Date: 04/03/2024

Number: 1

Yesterday at 1158 a female Rufous hummingbird made her debut. She nectared from my feeder as veils of drizzling rain sparkled in the sunbeams against a backdrop of blackened clouds. All morning we experienced gusty winds and torrential rain, which culminated in a hailstorm less than five minutes prior to her arrival; however, she remained elusive from my sight all afternoon and into the evening.

Today, our schedules synced at 1647, so I timed her activity for an hour, during which she fed every ten minutes without exception. Interestingly, she would zoom over blackberry thickets during inbound flights, then dive into the thorny brushwood for outbound flights. While she was away, no additional hummingbirds visited the feeder, and only once did she have to escort another hummingbird, an Anna's likely, out of her territory.

I'm thrilled that she has arrived: "Thank you for choosing my back-yard feeder, Lady Rufous."

Everett, WA

Latitude: 47.9 Longitude: -122.2

Observed by: April
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