A flock of baby hummingbirds? I can hardly believe my eyes! Somehow I don't think these are hummingbirds. Late summer brings reports of odd garden sightings, some perhaps figments of the overheated gardener's imagination, but this one is real. But if it's not a flock of baby hummers, then what on earth could it be?
Moths! Take a close look and you'll see the antennae. But, you say, moths fly at night. They certainly do, but a few fly during the day, too. Among them are the hummingbird clearwing, the bumblebee hawk and the white-lined sphinx moth. People seem to call them interchangeably by different names including pixies and in fact I think only an expert could tell all of them apart, but these moths really can be mistaken for hummingbirds or, if you are in Hawaii, for honeycreepers.
The hummingbird moth is a regular daytime flier and the white lined sphinx moth tends to come out at dusk but can also be seen sometimes during the day.
Many butterfly enthusiasts know there are tons of wonderful moths in the butterfly garden (along with the stray hummingbird or two) 
and many vegetable gardeners will be familiar with larvae of the sphinx moths -- hornworms! Interesting thing, though, in that not all hornworms eat tomatoes. Some eat tobacco and some eat other things. There is as much variety between the hornworms as there is between the moths themselves. This gallery of moth thumbnails is fantastic.
I think only an expert could tell them all apart, and indeed even the experts may have a hard time of it. So I don't get too excited about which one is which. Instead I enjoy them, snap photos remarkably akin to these from a suburban area in Virginia, and keep an eye out for even more natural living treasures. Intrepid urban (and other) explorers may be lucky enough to find great adventures like those chronicled and pictured at Lake Big Fish. I'm sure you'll find wonders (and moths), no matter where you look.
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