A. L. Kaplan

Tag: ruby-throated hummingbird

  • HUMMINGBIRD FUN FACTS: RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

    Only one day before HUMMINGBIRD: A STAR TOUCHED STORY releases.

    Here are a few last fun facts.

    Weighing in at a mere 3 grams and only 3 ½ inches in length, the ruby-throated hummingbird is one of my favorites.  (But not the smallest. The bee hummingbird of Cuba is only 2 ¼ inches long!)

    Photo by Joshua Cotton

    Ruby-throated hummingbirds have some variety in coloration depending on location, but their back is a beautiful iridescent green with a gray or white belly and the throat of the males is red. They have very long and slender bills and a forked tail.

    The green on the hummer that has been visiting my feeder this spring is such a dark emerald that I thought it was black until I got a closer look. He’s quite lovely but a bit camera shy.

    Photo by Joshua Cotton

    Don’t forget to order your copy of HUMMINGBIRD: A Star Touched Story

    Hummingbird: A Star Touched Story

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history. One step toward understanding. One stride toward survival. One leap toward flying free from the past.

    STAR TOUCHED

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

  • HUMMINGBIRD FUN FACTS: BABIES, BABIES EVERYWHERE

    Hummingbirds breed in late March through August. Then it’s up to mom to do all the hard work. She’ll lay up to 2 pea sized eggs in an itty-bitty lichen covered nest. What do you expect from a bird that weighs only the tenth the weight of a first-class letter?

    Photo by Malachi Diaz on Unsplash

    After 16 days of incubation, the hatchlings emerge. They’ll stay in the nest from 14-31 days before fledging. It all depends on the type of hummingbird.

    The mother hummingbird will continue to feed the fledglings for about 10 days before driving them away. Don’t worry, if they’ve been paying attention while they followed her around, they know how to find food.

    Find out what happens to this little bird.

    Hummingbird: A Star Touched Story

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history. One step toward understanding. One stride toward survival. One leap toward flying free from the past.

    STAR TOUCHED

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

  • HUMMINGBIRD FUN FACTS: VARIETIES

    HUMMINGBIRD: A STAR TOUCHED STORY comes out June 1, 2021.

    Here are some things I learned while writing.

    There are many different kinds of hummingbirds.

    Costa Rica – Photo by Paige Kaplan

    The only one on the east coast of North America is the ruby-throated hummingbird. With their iridescent green and distinct ruby throats, they are my favorite. By the way, only the males have the red throats.

    Photo by A. L. Kaplan

    Check out the hummingbirds that live near you.

    Don’t forget to order your copy of HUMMINGBIRD: A Star Touched Story

    Hummingbird: A Star Touched Story

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history. One step toward understanding. One stride toward survival. One leap toward flying free from the past.

    “If you read Star Touched, you’ll love Hummingbird. If you haven’t read Star Touched, now you’ll want to. ~ Kathy Steinemann”

    STAR TOUCHED

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

  • HUMMINGBIRD FUN FACTS: MIGRATON

    Photo by Bryan Hanson on Unsplash

    The ruby-throated hummingbird migrates 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico, but they don’t have the longest flight. That honor goes to the rufous hummingbird, which migrates up to 3000 miles from Alaska to Mexico. That’s a lot of flapping.

    Pick up your copy of HUMMINGBIRD: A Star Touched Story

    Hummingbird: A Star Touched Story

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history. One step toward understanding. One stride toward survival. One leap toward flying free from the past.

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history. One step toward understanding. One stride toward survival. One leap toward flying free from the past.

    “If you read Star Touched, you’ll love Hummingbird. If you haven’t read Star Touched, now you’ll want to. ~ Kathy Steinemann”

    STAR TOUCHED

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

  • HUMMINGBIRD FUN FACTS: ACROBATS OF THE AIR

    Since HUMMINGBIRD: A STAR TOUCHED STORY is coming out shortly, I thought I’d share some of the facts I learned while writing.

    Hummingbirds are tiny marvels of aerodynamics. Unlike other birds, the bones in a hummingbird’s wings are fixed and rigid except at the shoulder. Their wings can rotate nearly 180 degrees in all directions. Not only can they fly forward and backward, they can hover in place and even fly upside down! During regular flight, those little wings can beat 78 times per second and up to 200 times per second if they are showing off.

    Click here to see a video of a female ruby-throated hummingbird visiting my feeder.

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history. One step toward understanding. One stride toward survival. One leap toward flying free from the past.

    HUMMINGBIRD
    Coming to Amazon on June 1, 2021