By Tiffany Larsen

In honor of upcoming Mother’s Day, I would like to pay a little homage to my mother Mary’s favorite bird, the Hummingbird. My late mother’s adoration for these iridescent, fascinating little creatures, inspired her to collect and display an elaborate collection of fanciful tea cups, paintings, books, prints and other various doodads. She once even hired an artist friend of mine to paint a mural on her bedroom wall that included a splendid red-throated hummingbird.

My mother always kept several ornate red-glass hummingbird feeders on her back porch. Every morning she would sit with a cup of tea and watch these tiny marvels flitting about sampling the sugary liquids that she lovingly bestowed upon them. If she noticed one of her feeders was empty, she’d drop everything and scurry around gathering supplies in order to mix up another batch of this life-sustaining nectar.

Throughout my life I always appreciated the beauty, speed and persistence of these little birds, but I’ve noticed that since my mother’s passing, I feel an extra special connection to them. Luckily, in the front yards of most of the houses in my neighborhood one can usually spot a bright red, dangling, half-full feeder swinging in the breeze and being patronized by a small army (or should I say Air Force?) of delightful but determined little birds.

The species most common in California is called Calypte anna, which are slightly larger than in most other parts of the US, and they are also the most vocal. They don’t exactly sing, but they do make short & sharp chirpy sounds and you can hear them almost buzzing around your yard as if they were miniature WWI Ace’s flying about and dive-bombing things that they encounter during their flight path between the trees and the feeders. Sometimes they seem to be aggressive and almost fly right up into your face. The mating season for Calpyte anna is from December to May, and therefore walking around my charming old-fashioned neighborhood in the springtime sometimes reminds me of an old World War I epic film, only including a squadron of bedazzled, highly-pitched, and stunningly beautiful tiny-winged pilots.

Instead of being afraid or annoyed, the most common reaction I have when this “attack” occurs, is more akin to bewitched wonderment and awe. It is as if these little birds are trying so say, “Hey! Hello!....and Watch out! You’re just a little too close to my feeder my friend!”

I realize that this sounds a bit silly, but since my mother passed, it almost seems like the hummingbirds have been flying even closer to my face than before. It makes me wonder if they have been tasked with sending of messages of greetings and love from beyond. I now imagine that they are saying, “Hey! Mary says a quick hello!......but watch out, because you’re standing dangerously close to my feeder!”

As mentioned above, the Latin name for the most common of California’s hummingbirds is Calypte anna, which translates to Anna’s Hummingbirds. I hope Anna doesn’t mind sharing this honorific title with my mother Mary, at least just in title of this story. Mary did indeed love these magical little beings! I certainly hope that wherever she is now, she is able to have cups of tea in the morning and watch her ruby-throated friends flying about in all of their magnificent and kaleidoscopic splendor!

Tiffany Larsen is an animal lover, quixotic dreamer, and clandestine opera singer. She has worked as an Executive Assistant, Copywriter, and Editor in California, Florida and Paris, France. She has a B.A. in Psychology from UC Irvine. Email: VerseauTiff27@gmail.com