My Yard ~ Rufous Hummingbird

Excited to have a Rufous Hummingbird back in the yard.  It's a Western migrant.

Hummers in the Yard

Rufous Hummingbird

3 years ago at the beginning of November I had a Rufous Hummingbird come to stay at my house for 7 weeks. It was really exciting as the birders came to determine whether it was an Allen's or a Rufous.  This morning I caught some movement out f the corner of my eye and realized a hummer was in the yard.  It's a late migrating Ruby-throated hummingbird so there's still hope for a Western hummer to come pay us a visit.

Rufous Hummingbird 11/4/2013

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 11/5/16

CA ~Big Morongo Canyon Preserve ~ con't

SummerTanager

Lesser Goldfinch

Rufous Hummingbirds

Hummers at the feeder

My Yard ~ Rufous Hummingbird ~ Day 23

The Rufous Hummingbird first seen in my yard on November 2nd stopped by for a visit this afternoon. Since I am at work most days I am unable to tell if it's been coming by during the week. The hummingbird apparently has also been seen in another yard about 1/3 mile from my house as the crow flies. The birding experts who came out to document the hummingbirds took pictures and recording of both of them. They came to the conclusion that the Rufous Hummingbird is just one bird and is sharing both habitats.  Luckily, I still have some canna's blooming along with the pineapple sage.  Since we are predicted to have a freeze tonight I have no idea how long the plants will last.

Off to California - Santa Cruz

I have wanted to revisit the Watsonville area of CA since I was there with my sisters in January 2010.  Several weeks ago my sister, Jenny along with her husband and I decided that all of our schedules coordinated so travel plans were made.  We left this AM arriving in San Francisco just after noon PDT.  After renting a car we drove down to Santa Sruz to the UCSC Arboretum. The flowers here are spectucular which makes the arboretum is a mecca for several species of hummingbirds.

Anna's Hummingbird

Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird

California Quail

California Towhee






The Rufous vs Allen's Hummingbird and the California Towhee are new life birds for me.  Now if I could just figure out which hummingbird it actually was I'd be happier!