Okay, now I've read the whole thread. Great one, gnu!

My Uncle Arthur used to have about twenty feeders hanging from the eaves of his porch/walkway towards his front door. I swear generations of hummers would come back there every year to feed. They would land on his hat, his hands, shoulders, and arms, all the while their buddies would be feeding, buzzing, etc. It was like magic to visit him and just stand there to watch them all. He had dozens every day.

Years ago I had a very special female Siamese, Sasheen, who caught a ruby-throated hummingbird. She did not harm it, but brought it to me. I was privileged to hold it, cupped in my hands, while it recovered from the shock. I could feel its tiny, tiny heart beating a mile a minute, it seemed, until I opened my hands and it flew away. It was an incredible thing to have experienced.