Rufous Hummingbird

This little rufous hummingbird has been visiting our feeder all week. Hummers this color are fairly rare here and I felt compelled to look it up online. I wasn't surprised to read that these are "among the most tenacious and belligerent among the hummingbird species found in North America." We have certainly noticed that this one has staked out this feeder as its own. When it is feeding there, there isn't another hummingbird in sight. Perhaps it has to be more feisty as its coloration is definitely more distinctive and stands out more.

We have lots of hummingbirds here and they are all quite fierce in defending their territory. OilMan calls them "flying hypodermics".  They fly more like helicopters...they can hover, fly backwards or even upside down.  If you see a hummingbird hanging upside down, it is probably asleep! They're not afraid of us and often buzz our heads if we happen to be standing between them and one of the feeders, and we often watch them whirling and thrusting, buzzing and parrying with each other near us. They are the first birds of the day to come to the fountain by our front steps to bathe.

Speaking of the fountain by the front steps, the pond beneath it is absolutely teeming with tadpoles, the result of the action I photographed in our driveway here. If they all turn into frogs we are going to be overrun with them. They do eat insects, which is good (so do hummingbirds) but even a few frogs make quite a racket at night. Hundreds of them would be deafening! We watch them develop with interest....