Al Hansen
Well-known member
We just received our first influx of hummers that are now migrating south towards Mexico and Central America. Some of them, like the Rufous, come from as far north as southeastern Alaska (like the Ketchikan area) and British Columbia, their breeding grounds. They are amazing little dudes.
The males come through first. Here are some adult male rufous hummers. Check out their bright orange gorgets.
The drought has taken its toll this year. Even the birds seem to know what is going on around here and are avoiding the area. We had only a handful of black-chinned hummers and no broadtail hummers.
A male black-chinned hummer
Female black-chinned hummer.
What the backside of a female looks like
Now take your thumb and index finger and measure out what you think 3 inches is. That is the length of the adult male calliope. His mate is only about 2 1/2 inches long and they are known as the smallest bird in North America. The adult male can really show off with his beautiful gorget. He can fan out that gorget when courting a female. Quite impressive for sure.
You'll notice quite a bit of pollen on this guy's beak.
I'm liking the way Cayenne is beginning to look. She will be 6 months old on the 27th of July.
Have you ever been this totally relaxed?
Our friends, the Mitchussons loaned us their birthing kennel. It worked charms in my office. With the temps between 98 and 108, we opted for the litter to be in our house. Last night they made the big trip to the kennel. It cooled off to 94F.
Puppy breath anyone?
I kept these two shots to show what a hummer can do if they need to be evasive. They are the only bird that we know of that can fly upside down. I have seen this quite a few times. The first shot shows a juvenile rufous at the feeder. Just above it flew in an adult male and the youngster left "post haste"!
Bev and I were out walking the herd (our dogs) late in the evening a couple of nights ago. Just as the sun was setting in the west a stream of light hit the hills just to our east on the other side of the Rio Grande valley. Some of God's handy work for sure.
If you look hard enough you can see a few sprinkles of rain on the lily pads. Even though it was only a few drops, it was very refreshing. We sure hope to get some more during our monsoon season.
Al
The males come through first. Here are some adult male rufous hummers. Check out their bright orange gorgets.
The drought has taken its toll this year. Even the birds seem to know what is going on around here and are avoiding the area. We had only a handful of black-chinned hummers and no broadtail hummers.
A male black-chinned hummer
Female black-chinned hummer.
What the backside of a female looks like
Now take your thumb and index finger and measure out what you think 3 inches is. That is the length of the adult male calliope. His mate is only about 2 1/2 inches long and they are known as the smallest bird in North America. The adult male can really show off with his beautiful gorget. He can fan out that gorget when courting a female. Quite impressive for sure.
You'll notice quite a bit of pollen on this guy's beak.
I'm liking the way Cayenne is beginning to look. She will be 6 months old on the 27th of July.
Have you ever been this totally relaxed?
Our friends, the Mitchussons loaned us their birthing kennel. It worked charms in my office. With the temps between 98 and 108, we opted for the litter to be in our house. Last night they made the big trip to the kennel. It cooled off to 94F.
Puppy breath anyone?
I kept these two shots to show what a hummer can do if they need to be evasive. They are the only bird that we know of that can fly upside down. I have seen this quite a few times. The first shot shows a juvenile rufous at the feeder. Just above it flew in an adult male and the youngster left "post haste"!
Bev and I were out walking the herd (our dogs) late in the evening a couple of nights ago. Just as the sun was setting in the west a stream of light hit the hills just to our east on the other side of the Rio Grande valley. Some of God's handy work for sure.
If you look hard enough you can see a few sprinkles of rain on the lily pads. Even though it was only a few drops, it was very refreshing. We sure hope to get some more during our monsoon season.
Al
