Rufous Hummingbird Male

The Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) visits my home every year about this time.

Rufous Hummingbird Male

Of course the males come first to establish territory.

Rufous Hummingbird Male

According to Macauley Library’s migration map the overwhelming breeding activity for this species occurs north of the state of California.

The thing is, I have females that have been hanging around also. I think their breeding range may be moving South. This is a photo of a female who showed up in August of 2012 with some juveniles.

Rufous Hummingbird Female

I guess we will find out as the eBird maps change in the future, but until then, here is another photo of one of the males hanging out here in Northern California.

Rufous Hummingbird Male

And a video of him taking a shower in the rain.

Written by Larry
Larry Jordan was introduced to birding after moving to northern California where he was overwhelmed by the local wildlife, forcing him to buy his first field guide just to be able to identify all the species visiting his yard. Building birdhouses and putting up feeders brought the avian fauna even closer and he was hooked. Larry wanted to share his passion for birds and conservation and hatched The Birder's Report in September of 2007. His recent focus is on bringing the Western Burrowing Owl back to life in California where he also monitors several bluebird trails. He is a BirdLife Species Champion and contributes to several other conservation efforts, being the webmaster for Wintu Audubon Society and the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Urban Bird Foundation. He is now co-founder of a movement to create a new revenue stream for our National Wildlife Refuges with a Wildlife Conservation Pass.