Some Arizona Hummers

We have been lugging two hummingbird feeders with us but kept forgetting to buy sugar until this week. I hung them out one evening and we had our first visitor the next day. He’s a male Wide-billed Hummingbird and quite the dude – but he moves fast and is pretty spookish. What a treat it is to sit outside the Airstream in lawn chairs and wait for him to annouce his presence with some "chek" noises. Here are a couple of shots I took yesterday:

Earlier in the day we went back to Paton’s yard to watch birds. We had several Anna’s Hummingbirds there – there were a couple of females and some males. Like all hummers, the way light catches their plumage affects the color: it can look black one moment and then a vibrant pink the next. Here is a young male:

Here is another guy:

In another month or so, the area will start getting hundreds of hummingbirds, including many who don’t winter here. It has to be a spectacular sight with all the territorial jousting. As we know from our Ruby-throated visitors in Vermont, these little balls of energy can be very feisty, and very beautiful. They’ll be starting north soon. Have hope.