Rufous Hummingbird Male photos by Larry Jordan
The Rufous Hummingbird breeds farther north than any other hummingbird in the world according to Cornell Lab of Ornithology and we love to see them arrive every spring. When I checked my hummingbird feeders the other day, I noticed that one of the feeders was not emptying as quickly as the others. I thought maybe the sugar water had gone bad but that didn’t make sense since I filled them all at the same time (and with the recent boom in my hummingbird population, they empty to quickly to go bad).
It took no time at all to solve the mystery. A Rufous Hummingbird had taken this feeder as his own. I watched as he aggressively fended off all other hummers in the area. Here’s a photo of the spunky guy showing off his beautiful iridescent orange gorget.
Even this female was feeding at the feeder on the other end of the porch
As I get more and more of these “jewels of the sky” at my feeders I have to refill them more often. I have found a partial solution to this problem however with the 72 ounce hummingbird feeder by Best-1. These very simple, very well made (in the USA) feeders are not only rugged, they have built in perches and 8 feeding stations to accomodate a large number of hummingbirds at once.
To find out when hummingbirds might be in your neck of the woods, check out Journey North where you can not only track their migration, you can contribute your sightings and get lots of cool information on hummingbirds.
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Awesome images Larry!
No Ruby throats here yet.
Nice photos, and what a great story about the feeder. I just saw my first rufous earlier this week! Proof spring has finally arrived!
Monika Wielands last blog post..My First Orcas of 2009: Transients in Haro Strait!
Larry,
I love the images and I can’t wait until the Rufous hummers come back to Montucky (that’s Montana)
Radd
@John thanks. I bet you can’t wait for the Ruby throats to show huh?
@Monika, yes spring seems to be all around us. I love your Orca Encounter!
@Radd thanks for the comment. I like that, Montucky 😉
We have two pairs of rufous’s that just arrived about five days ago and are chasing each other constantly. One even hit the window, but soon recovered to chase and be chased again.
Adorable bird and excellent capture.
babooshkas last blog post..STORM CLOUDS – SKYWATCH
Lovely captures, especially the second one..
I love hummingbirds ,, they remind me a kittle of the NZ fantails.
Karens last blog post..Camera Critters – At The River
Too beautiful! Thanks!
nice capture of those cute hummingbirds..
Norms last blog post..Camera Critters (Macau)
Awesome!!!I’m still working on getting pictures of our hummingbirds.All I’ve been getting is blurs.Any hints?
ChrisCandJonJs last blog post..“You’re a stranger in these here parts,aren’t you?”
You are blessed. I’d love to see them Sandy
sandys last blog post..The Sunshine Gang -Camera Critters #53
Great shots of a lovely creature.
koalas last blog post..Elza’s first week
Another bird I won’t get here Oh I’m so envious, but grateful you capture such wonderful images.
babooshkas last blog post..ONE BUTTERFLY LEFT- CRITTERS
Thanks for the info and great captures! I was just discussing putting up a feeder in our yard 🙂
b13s last blog post..All hail…
Great photos and I enjoyed reading the info. Thank you!
Denises last blog post..Happy Easter
Our Eastern Spinebill is the nearest we get here to your wonderful Hummingbirds. Lovely captures.
Arijas last blog post..TODAY’S FLOWERS ~ 23 Autumnal Surprises.
I think I need a lesson on taking bird photos – I can never capture any like you do here.
After reading the comments, I see I’m not alone.
Terrific photos.
Manzs last blog post..Who Says All Elephants Have Great Memories?