We get three species of hummingbirds around the Lake: Calliope, Rufous, and Black-chinned. Well, really occasionally, the Anna’s has been seen, but not by me.
Some years I have seen only one of the species, sometimes two, and now and then there will be a summer when I see all three. Amazingly, in an hour this morning, I saw all three species. The morning offered a humdinger of hummingbirds.
The Rufous Hummingbird is the scrappiest and most likely to be seen.
The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest and next most common.
The Black-chinned Hummingbird is the least likely to be seen.
Forgive me for asking, Alistair, but how on earth do you do it? How do you come up with these amazing, hard-to-get images week after week?
Obviously there’s a hummingbird feeder involved, but clearly it takes more than that.
Consider these questions as rhetorical if you like, but really they’re high compliment.
Thanks so much.
Trevor, thank you for the compliment. For the moment I am going to take the rhetorical option. However, I have responded to your personal email address.
Such a joy to see these, Thank you!
I’ll second Trevor’s comments.
Best blog on the web.
Hmm.. lots of hummingbirds. I wonder if this is because there is more pollen? I read in a National Geographic article that climate change has increased pollen levels. The author said, “When exposed to warmer temperatures and higher levels of CO2, plants grow more vigorously and produce more pollen than they otherwise would.”
Great for bees and hummingbirds, not so great for those with allergies.
These are such gorgeous little birds. What a treasure.
I know that the banner photos are random, and this time it is a Rufous!
Tremendous photos — ya done good!