Flycatchers and Hummingbirds

Well, I finally got a couple shots of that Flycatcher who visits. There may be more than one, this one is much darker than the one I’ve seen previously…and might be bigger, as well. I wish I could get better pictures; this bird and another, were playing ‘chase’…and not in a fun way. It seemed clear to me one was running off the other. At least it stayed around a bit…while watching it in my new, light-gathering binocs; I noted it had a lighter, yellow-ish bill (though the photo doesn’t show it, I noted that while observing it) and very dark feet; and this one, while darker, has well-marked wing bars. I also clearly see a ‘cap’ and did not notice an eye-ring, though you can see it here. That post is not quite 4” in diameter. I’m not at all confident in ID-ing it, but , I’m going to guess it’s not an Olive-sided Flycatcher, in spite of having heard it’s call several times …but a Western Wood-Pewee; I didn’t observe tail-flicking, nor streaking on the flanks, and that certainly doesn’t look like a ‘short tail’. Besides, my online pal suggested Wood-Pewee. What say you?

Having said all this; the bird was dark enough to recall a childhood poem:

Little mouse in gray velvet,
have you had a cheese-breakfast?
There are no crumbs on your coat,
did you use a napkin?
I wonder what you had to eat,
and who dresses you in gray velvet?

Left: Broad-tailed Hummingbird(m)
Right: Black-chinned Hummingbird(m)

I was not home much last weekend and this weekend it seems the hummingbird population has exploded. Last month, I saw twice as many Broad-tailed Hummingbirds as Black-chinned; but now I see maybe twice as many Rufus Hummers as Broad-tailed! It seems the Calliope is shyer and more difficult to observe, but I believe I have at least two males here. Having a chance to watch both sexes makes me believe now, that the hummer I had back in May was, in fact, a Calliope female. It’s tiny size, streaky throat and soft, bee-like sound while flying makes me think so. Unfortunately I didn’t know about the shorter tail and longer wings. Oddly, males are supposed to arrive before females.


Both: Rufus Hummingbird(m)

What a trip! There must be two dozen Hummingbirds in my yard at any given time. I suppose I really should move the feeders farther apart…but I have a hard enough time photographing them as it is. It is astounding how different they look, depending on how the light is working on their feathers. I’ve included a couple extra shots of that little bully; the Rufus Hummingbird…he sure is beautiful but absolutely terrorizes all other hummers. I’ve watched them drive another into the tall grass and hover over them, back and forth inches from the ground for several seconds before leaving. I’ve also seen four or five at a time displaying; tails flared and chirping madly while vying for dominance. The Black-chins are sweet and sit on the feeders, even as I change them. Now that I know the Black-chinned hummers pump their tails like no tomorrow (you'd recognize it as soon as you saw it), it's easy to tell them apart, regardless of the light. But I do wish I could get a photo showing their stunning purple 'collars' like this.


Both: Rufus Hummingbird(m)


Left: Calliope Hummingbird(m)
Right: Rufus Hummingbird(m) with Calliope(f)

I also wish I could capture the different colors that Rufus bird shows. Sometimes he's chocolate brown, sometimes an orange as bright as highly polished broze and sometimes either male or female is so golden they look like a little yellow ball of sunshine. I included some pretty bad pictures here, just to try to show all the color variations that the light makes. Stunning birds, they are!