Migration is one of the great wonders of nature.  Particularly stunning is hummingbird migration.  Why do they move from as far south as Guatemala and Mexico to the southwestern United States, New Mexico, and points north to breed?  Are there more small insects here that provide protein for their chicks?  Does the broader area provide the right temperature for incubation?  All we know is that we love watching, and, to some extent, interacting with them for the short season they are here, listening for their arrival in spring, and watching their departure with melancholy in late September.  Thus, I had to do more photography and one more blog for these flying aces.

They arrive roughly around the middle of April, American tax return filing time, and we can usually hear them before we see them.  The broad-tailed hummingbird scouts fly in first, doing aerial reconnaissance, with their wings making a "shrill trilling" (Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds).  Next, the black-chinned arrive.  For the first couple of months, these two types are the predominate hummingbirds in our area, but soon the calliope join the group, followed in early to mid-July by the most territorial - the rufous - who really shake things up.

Since there seems to be a greater population of rufous this year, there are also more juveniles who haven't quite honed their flying skills.  One recently hit one of our house sliding glass doors.  Dazed, confused, but alive, she provided me with the perfect opportunity to capture the details of this flying marvel.

Shaking it off, she was soon back in the fray, feeding and communicating with forty to fifty birds gathered at the feeders at any one time.  It doesn't take long to realize that hummingbird social structure is extremely complex!  Whether they are constantly saying "Mine" or "get out of my way", we don't know, but it is quite the scene.  Here is a rufous waiting and keeping a watchful eye on the action (although they don't sit still for long, as shown below). 

rufous hummingbird on mugo pine

hummer in space

A black-chinned coming in for a landing

hummer black chinned

We are lucky to have these creatures in our neighborhood!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image@