Flashing his neck feathers

A couple of mornings ago, on 11 June 2015, I joined a group of friends for a walk in Weaselhead, hoping to see three species of Hummingbird - Calliope, Rufous and Ruby-throated. The Calliope (5 of them) gave us the closest (but still distant) views, while the other two were very distant. It never fails to amaze me that these three species are all found in Weaselhead. This tiny bird (seemingly not much bigger than a large Bumblebee, lol!) would occasionally flash the gorgeous feathers on its neck - the colour in the sunlight was amazing. Very poor photo, but wanted to add it to my Weaselhead album. It is the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world, spending its winters in Mexico.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Calliope_Hummingbird/id

"This is the smallest breeding bird found in Canada and the United States. An adult calliope hummingbird can measure 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in) in length, span 11 cm (4.3 in) across the wings and weigh 2 to 3 g (0.071 to 0.106 oz)." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calliope_hummingbird

As usual at this time of year, it was good to see the huge number of Cliff Swallows, swarming like a cloud of large insects around the metal bridge over the river. In flight, they catch insects and fly back to their mud nests, that are built under the bridge, to feed their babies. It amazes me how each bird knows which is its own nest - they all look alike.

Another bird (a pair) that was good to see was the little Eastern Phoebe, back at the same location where it has been at least the last few years. So difficult to get a decent photo because of the distance - the photo I posted yesterday was the closest shot I had ever been able to get. It was taken when the bird flew to a piece of driftwood in the water.

The group divided into two for this walk and the following is the combined list of species seen. As usual, I didn't see all the listed birds, but was happy especially to see the three Hummingbird species.

Mallard-2
Great Blue Heron-1
Swainson’s Hawk-2, 1 captured juv. BBMagpie.
Merlin-1, captured a Cliff Swallow.
Spotted Sandpiper-1
Franklin’s Gull-50
Ruby-throated Hummingbird-2
Rufous Hummingbird-1
Calliope Hummingbird-5
Northern Flicker-4
Olive-sided Flycatcher-1.
Eastern Phoebe-2
Black-billed Magpie-6
American Crow-4
Common Raven-1+
Tree Swallow-12
Cliff Swallow-249
Black-capped Chickadee-3
White-breasted Nuthatch-2
House Wren-6
American Robin-5
Gray Catbird-6
Cedar Waxwing-12
Yellow Warbler-10
Spotted Towhee-1 heard.
Clay-colored Sparrow-12
White-throated Sparrow-6
Common Grackle-1
Brown-headed Cowbird-6
House Finch-2
American Goldfinch-2

Red Squirrel-3
Muskrat-1