My little titan was last seen (briefly) on Saturday evening. Here are a few shots from my last encounter. I continue to keep a sharp eye watching for the little guy but he seems to have arrived, healed considerably and my thoughts are he has headed South. Rufous Hummingbirds generally disappear around mid June around here ...young of the year are often seen into September but this is the first adult I have encountered past July. Farewell little jewel.. Safe travels and Godspeed!!!
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On Sunday afternoon my jaw nearly hit the floor when I looked out back and saw a brilliant flash of red gold and a familiar friend! Mr Rufous Hummingbird was back!!! These little giants head South like clockwork around mid June each year (traveling to the South of the USA and Southern Mexico to spend the winter. I have to tell you that in more than 30 years of feeding and watching Hummingbirds I have not seen an adult male Rufous around here past the first week of July. There was a dash for my camera gear (that I have been having focus issues with) and I said a small prayer that the camera would function and Mr Rufous would hang round for at least a few shots. Now it is Tuesday evening and I have taken at least 1500 photos of the little phenomena who has been involved in some sort of dramatic incident. Notice his right eye area... Despite his injury this mini Titan has literally taken over the back yard, protecting 2 feeders from other hummingbirds, fighting off wasps and catching his daily quota of flying insects. God Bless you Rufe! You are a true warrior !!! This is how you munch down those chewy flying bugs!! Nom nommm
Coopers Hawk and Merlin interact in the early morning light Above ... young Osprey just recently learned to fly and now learning to feed himself. (OK , the kingfisher sits here and fishes...I can too!)
Here's Mom! adult female Wood Duck Adult drake (male) Wood Duck) Aix sponsa Young of the year Wood Duck drake beginning to take on his adult colouration. The young Wood Duck drake above is slightly more advanced than the one in the first image... you can see the feathers on his head transforming into adult colours.
A delightful couple sessions today observing the male Pileated Woodpecker feed his daughter , them the Female arrives and feeds her son Tiny butterfly (maybe 2/3 inch 20mm in length) It came back to gather nectar from this beautiful Salvia and shared its elegance with me. Mr Annas Hummingbird .. This rascal is the current deck boss ... From first light in the morning till near darkness he patrols the flower gardens and deck feeders, chasing away everyone who dares to come near his space! I get exhausted watching some days .. And he is so fast,but occasionally a lovely female is momentarily allowed in like the one shown flying in slide 4 above and below!
photo above is mainly Black Turnstones, but 2 lighter coloured birds may be "Surfbirds" A new species for me ... any thoughts?
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May 2024
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Summer 2023.. I just received notice that my blog has been awarded a distinction of being one of the top 10 photography blogs in Canada.
* All images and content copyright Terry Venables and NaturalImagesCanada *
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