Return of the Rufous

As I've reported here over the last two or three weeks, the hummingbird activity in my yard has been frantic. There have been several Ruby-throated Hummingbirds passing through, but I really had not had much of a chance to get out and observe the action. Until today.

Guess what I found? It's not just RTHs. I've got Rufous Hummingbirds, too!

I'd had a couple of the little birds spend the season with me last winter and I was certainly hoping they would return, but I never expected them this early. As soon as I realized they were here, I went and grabbed my camera and tried to record their presence.

An adult male was cooperative enough to sit still on his favorite perch for a while as I snapped away.

His head was constantly swiveling as he responded to the presence of other hummers in the area.

 He was ready to take off at a moment's notice to defend his space.

No movement escaped his notice!

"Who's that over there? Is she a threat?"

An adult female was sitting just a couple of feet away from him on another bare twig.

She, too, was keeping a beady eye on all those other hummer interlopers.

 Left, right, left, right - that little head was constantly in motion.

Look at those tiny, tiny feet. These birds never cease to amaze me. How can something so small be so perfectly a bird? How can they even be in the same family as Whooping Cranes or Bald Eagles?

I took my nectar feeders down and scrubbed them and refilled them and a little later I was rewarded by seeing one of the adult males visiting one of them.

Hmmm...I wonder if there might be other hummer species in my yard that I haven't seen yet?