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Blog Entry 44 of 71 River City Raconteur
rac·on·teur [rak-uhn-tur; Fr. ra-kawn-tœr]a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly. Origin: 1820–30; < F, equiv. to racont(er) to tell (OF r(e)- re- + aconter to tell, account ) + -eur -eur Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Lookin' for love
Contributed by: Jim Miller   on 3/2/2008

We call her Lady BC, a female black-chinned hummingbird who came to the Ruby N. Priddy Nature Conservatory at River Bend last summeras a casualty. She flew into the outside of the building, colliding against the glass and stunning herself. The good news is she suffered no permanent damage. Brought inside the Conservatory for observation, sherevived andreleased herself when no one was looking.

She immediately adopted the upper southwest corner of the Conservatory as her "home" territory and spent most of her days flying seemingly endless north-south laps. Clearly, she had learned about glass, for she would whiz to within a mere fraction of an inch of a wall before reversing course.

Truth be told, we at River Bend were thrilled to have her in residence, even though we suspected the lady was doing her dead level best to migrate. We were glad to have her, and yet we could not help but feel somewhat sorry for her at the same time. So we did our best to help her adjust to her new imposed environment.

Martha Davis, curator of exhibits, installed a hummingbird feeder in the river bottom exhibit. But the Lady took an immediate liking to the white mist flowers and Texas heather. Once the blooms began to play out, she readily adapted to the feeder, protectively shooing away any butterflies that ventured near it.

As weeks grew into months, the Lady spent less time flying laps. She hung out more in the bur oak, cottonwood, pecan, and hackberry trees near her feeder, delighting visitors with her quiet presence. People did not appear to be a concern for her. She, as always, was more concerned with butterflies filching from her feeder.

Recently the Lady has spent more time perched on a narrow branch of fragrant mimosanear the eastwall of the Conservatory. On one gloomy, heavily overcast Saturday, she spent the entire day there, only leaving to sip at her feeder every 20 minutes or so.

We've done our best to provide for the Lady, as we do for all the Ruby's residents. Her food and shelter are far better than she would find in the wild. Still, there is that one thing we cannot provide for her, and I, for one, cannot help but wonder. The Lady sits at her window lookin' for love.



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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
Submitted By: Jim Miller
posted on 3/10/2008 @ 2:07:25 PM
(Not Rated)
Last I heard from south Texas the hummers were well on their way, Beverly, so, yeah, it's time to get the feeders warmed up and hangin'.
Submitted By: Beverly McClure
posted on 3/8/2008 @ 5:33:37 PM
Rated Blog Entry
What a beautiful story, Jim. But she sounds so lonesome. Now you have to watch for the first black chins that arrive and capture Lady BC her Prince Charming. When will the hummers be in? I need new feeders because last year we had black chins and ruby throated. Can't wait for the wee ones appearance.
Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Jim Miller

Wichita Falls , TX

Jim Miller has posted 71 blog entries and 141 comments since joining on 9/26/2006. Jim Miller 's average blog rating is 4.74.
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