RHH's photos with the keyword: hummingbird

The Hummingbirds are back! We put out our feeders April one and saw male Calliope at one of the feeders the next day. These are older photos of a male at a feeder, but their return is always a sign of spring. A Calliope Hummingbird is about three inches long (7.6 cm) and weighs about a tenth of an ounce (2.8 g).

This is a male Calliope Hummingbird, our smallest Hummingbird and this year the first to return in the spring migration.

The first day of our hiking trip trip in the Colorado Rockies was spent exploring several areas, first around Maroon Lake and then up the Castle Creek Road. At the second location we found fields of wildflowers including these Scarlet Gilia and Richarson's Geraniums. I had seen them before in Washington but never in such abundance. The flowers were being visited by these Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and we were able to get some photos of the birds as well. We are planning on hiking and backpacking in the Castle Creek area again this coming summer, two of my brothers and two grandsons, one of mine and one of a brother. Our plan is to hike in establish a base camp and then spend the rest of the time day hiking from the camp. My wife will be traveling to see her family at that time, though we have plans to do some hiking and backpacking together this summer as well, some with other family members.

I was sitting on the back porch a few days ago watching the aerial acrobatics of the Hummingbirds as they came to our feeders when this female Rufous Hummingbird decided to check me out and see what I was. She hovered around my head sometimes as close as six inches and was not at all frightened when I picked up my camera and started photographing her. We have three species of Humming birds coming to our feeders and the other flowers on the porch, Caliope, Rufous and Black-chinned, and all three, males and females, will come to the feeders even when we are nearby. Sometimes the buzz of their flight startles us when we are not watching for them and they fly close to our heads, but they are a constant delight.

I was sitting on the back porch a few days ago watching the aerial acrobatics of the Hummingbirds as they came to our feeders when this female Rufous Hummingbird decided to check me out and see what I was. She hovered around my head sometimes as close as six inches and was not at all frightened when I picked up my camera and started photographing her.

I was sitting on the back porch a few days ago watching the aerial acrobatics of the Hummingbirds as they came to our feeders when this female Rufous Hummingbird decided to check me out and see what I was. She hovered around my head sometimes as close as six inches and was not at all frightened when I picked up my camera and started photographing her.

I was sitting on the back porch a few days ago watching the aerial acrobatics of the Hummingbirds as they came to our feeders when this female Rufous Hummingbird decided to check me out and see what I was. She hovered around my head sometimes as close as six inches and was not at all frightened when I picked up my camera and started photographing her.

We saw our first Humming bird Thursday, a male Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest North American bird, only three inches in length (7.5 cm). Their return from Mexico is sure sign of spring, the males arriving first and the females shortly thereafter. The other birds I've posted are also signs of spring. The Goldfinches are changing back to their bright yellow color from the the dull green they wear in winter, the Western Ospreys are on their nest, and many ducks are migrating through the area or nesting in the area. The photo was taken last year since I haven't yet been able to get a photo of this year's returnees. It was taken near one of the feeders we put up. This year we put up our feeders just the week before the Hummingbirds showed up, which was good timing for them and for us.

Not the greatest photo, but the only one I was able to get when we were In Joshua Tree National Park. This is Anna's Hummingbird, photographed in Hidden Valley.

This is a female Black-chinned Hummingbird photographed at one of our feeders. They are very active in the morning and evening but will soon be migrating to Mexico.

This is a female Black-chinned Hummingbird perched on one of our feeders. She is one of three kinds of hummingbirds that we see and by far the most common. It will not belong now before they make their annual migration to Mexico.

This is a female Black-chinned Hummingbird, one of three kinds of hummingbirds that come to our feeders and the most common of the three. I think she caught a glimpse of me on the other side of the window and stopped feeding to see what was going on. The male is shown in one of the insets.

This is another of the three species of hummingbirds that have been coming to our feeders, the Black-chinned Hummingbird. A close look will confirm the black chin but less noticeable is the purple band beneath.

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest bird in North America, less than three inches long (7.5 cm). This is the male and in the right light his throat feathers are an iridescent magenta. I'll be posting some other photos for a while before returning to photos of our trip to California, Nevada and Utah and the parks we visited there. Have a lot of them, too, to process and post.