Until this year I had no idea that hummingbirds would sometimes stay over the winter. But this year I got to witness it firsthand...I have four winter hummers in my yard! My front yard Rufous (or to be specific Selasphorus Rufous or Allen's -- they say it's impossible to really tell without an up close and personal inspection) appears to be a younger bird with a smallish gorget. The Rufous in the back yard is larger and the gorget is more well developed. They've been here for a month or more. Then a few days ago, two more birds showed up. I was all excited to see a new bird with pink feathers on its head...until I got a better look and saw it was marked with liquid paper. A banded bird! And it was a Black-Chinned, probably a young female. And then I saw another one that same day, only this one didn't have a pink mark. Another Black-Chinned female! Woo-hoo!
All the birds have been ID'd by video and in person by our local experts... and tomorrow they are coming to band them, if they can catch them. You can be sure I'll have pictures!
In the meantime here are some pictures of my hummers...
Li'l Rufous cussin' at me in the morning
And then later in the day, sun gently shining, no others hummers or humans around, the Li'l Rufous sips
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