Today brought three spring creatures (in four pictures)
The Wood Duck is a water bird and seasonal migrant. This is a male. This is the first time I have seen it on a piling.
Every May brings the Bombylius major in numbers to the yard. This tiny bee-mimic fly is a nectar robber. It uses its long proboscis to steal nectar and pollen from a flower without ever touching either anthers (male) or stigma (female). In this way, it violates the contract between flowers and insects: nectar in exchange for pollination. However, it is likely that its long legs and proboscis evolved, not for larceny, but to protect it from crab spiders lurking among the flowers.
The last few days have brought me the first hummingbirds of the season. This is a Rufous Hummingbird. Its gorget (throat) is iridescent. Under many circumstances, it is black.
However, with the proper lighting, it will flash a briliant red.
Those are lovely shots of the Rufous hummingbird. They seem to have arrived on the Coast somewhat late this year. Only this past week, an arriving Rufous chased the local Anna’s out of its territory
.