An Early Arrival

Anna's hummingbirds remain in the Pacific Northwest during the winter so I've regularly cleaned and filled my feeder, even moving it to a more sheltered spot next to the house so that it was less likely to freeze. During December and January, I would take it in at night. The feeder is monitored twice daily by a male Anna's. Sometimes a female shows up, sometimes another male Anna's drops by, but mostly it's this one male.

The male Anna's knows both me and the dogs and will come into the feeder even if we are walking around in the yard. So it caught my notice a couple of weeks ago when a tiny, very skittish, orange-ish hummer starting showing up.

In the summer, I have up to five species of hummers show up. One of these is the rufous hummingbird. They are distinctive birds with their coppery backs, black wings, white neck ring, and iridescent red throats. I had both male and female rufous hummers visit my feeder last summer.

It's a male rufous, possibly a young one because he is extremely tiny. I have definitively identified him after numerous sightings, made rather difficult because he'd flit off if he even saw me through the kitchen window. I finally got a photo, not the best because it was taken from inside the house through dirty glass and a screen. I had to hide around the corner and slowly extend the camera out so that this little guy wouldn't zip away in fear.

He's here far too early in the season, I think. I hope he survives until the weather warms up. I've been thinking that I will set up a second feeder to increase his chances.