Four Different Kinds of Hummingbirds

 We usually have lots of hummingbirds this time of year as they prepare for their long journey south. They have completed their parenting duties and are fattening up before their epic flight. The most common type around here is the Broad-tailed Hummingbird. (Please note: some of these pictures have either been taken on dark days in the rain or directly into the sun and are not very good)

The Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are the ones with the distinctive whistle or buzz that you hear as they fly around. The buzz is actually caused by their feathers and is loudest when they do their courtship dive.

The males have dark throats which appear bright red when the sun hits it just right.

We have lots of flowers in the yard - which they love.

I never noticed the speckles under his tail before.

This is the plainer female Broad-tailed Hummingbird.

The smallest bird in North America is the Calliope Hummingbird. The male also has a red throat - but it appears in streaks instead of solid red. This one was less than 3" long. This is the first year we have identified Calliope Hummingbirds in our yard and we have several.

This is a Black-chinned Hummingbird with black and a beautiful purple throat.

It's really difficult to get a decent picture showing the purple.

Another view of the small Calliope Hummingbird.

This is the bully of the hummingbirds - the Rufous Hummingbird, named for the color on his back. He will guard "his" food source and drive away anyone else who tries to have a drink. It makes for a delightful time watching the hummingbird circus. Did you see his drinking buddy?

The bees are becoming a problem!

I'm beginning to wonder if my camera is having a problem. I just can't seem to get the quality I want.

Why is it that the plainer females pose so nicely when the light is just right - but the prettier males refuse???

Hummingbirds & Travel Bugs

I sat outside on this beautiful Colorado morning drinking my coffee and watching the humming-birds at the feeder. The early morning sun captures their colors - which change as they move.

The Rufous Hummingbird has beautiful shades of orange.

Same bird, just a fraction of a second later. The bright throat colors did not show when he was looking up.

I was surprised to see shades of green on this one. I don't know if this is the same bird or not.

The Broad-tailed Humming-bird has a green back.

Look at her little feet - just enough to stand still on.

This must be the male as his colors are much brighter. His throat patch (gorget) looks bright red in the sunlight.

I enjoy looking at all the birds, but there is something very special about the hummingbirds - probably because they are so small, move so fast and are around for just a short time. It's fun to hear the buzz-z-z as the Broad-tailed hummers fly around.

Yesterday, Bill and I hiked in Palmer Park and we completed our first multi-geocache. It had five steps. The first location had a very small (half the size of your ring finger) container under a piece of bark with the coordinates of the second cache. The 2nd had the coordinates of the third and so on. Each successive cache was a little larger than the previous and the last one was the size of a small canister of coffee.

After signing the log at the final stop, we dropped off a travel bug, which is a dog tag stamped with a unique number and may or may not be attached to a small stuffed animal, toy or figurine. Each bug has a mission and people who find it pass it along by putting it into a different cache and record the move on geocaching.com.

We have four bugs that we have placed in different caches around Colorado. This one was "Rotten Ralph." His mission is to "get out of town - fast."

Another of our bugs, "Leo," is a small beanie baby lion who just "wants to go home."

"Orca" is a beanie baby whale trying to find his way to Fort Myers - and if he makes it, we will pick him up.

Our last bug was not attached to anything as we placed it into a micro-cache - too small for anything else but a log and the tag. It's mission is to visit "every cache in Colorado."

Many of these bugs and other trackables like geocoins go missing as people who find them keep them as souvenirs, so I'm hoping ours will travel and people will record their adventures.

Just another silly but fun facet to the hobby!