Date: 3/18/26 3:53 pm From: 'Pete Sole' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Rufous Hummer (photos) and other FOS
Hi birders,
We had our first of season (FOS) RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in the garden today.
Managed to snap some so so images, but still good enough for ID,
including these three:
(Well the coloring looks like a warning, and it might be relatively big...)
Interestingly enough, it looks like this hummer is still molting into
it's breeding plumage. Yet it is still migrating to its breeding grounds
north. Also, although small about 3.75 inches in length, according to
the Cornell Bird's of the World online resources:
"The Rufous Hummingbird is North America's “extremist” hummingbird,
widely known in the west for its aggressive nature. Venturing far from
the equatorial tropics in which its ancestors evolved, it reaches the
northernmost latitude of any hummingbird (61° N). After making the
longest (measured in body lengths) known avian migration, individuals
from Alaskan populations face a short breeding season but the longest
day-length seen by any hummingbird."
In other migrant news, yesterday and today we heard our FOS WESTERN
FLYCATCHERS, affectionately known as Pac-slopes. At this point, I think
our only missing typical neighborhood breeding migrant, would be
black-headed grosbeaks. The grosbeaks should start showing up any day now.
