Hummingbirds!

On Sunday (3/3) I visited a local Tallahassee house that was, in a word, outstanding. This has to be the birdiest yard I’ve ever seen. I was mostly interested in the hummingbirds. An adult male Rufous made an appearance and was dominant over one of the feeders. It was quite a stunning bird!

Rufous Hummingbird

There were another 4-5 hummingbirds zipping in and out including one or two more Rufous. Drab young/female hummingbirds are not my forte, so trying to identify these things was a challenge. However, I could tell that this adult female hummingbird is a Ruby-throated.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Two Black-chinned Hummingbirds have been recently banded in the yard as well. This was tough to pick out, but this bird, with a few purple gorget feathers, appears to be one of the Black-chinned Hummingbirds.

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Another treat was the Orioles that were enjoying the hummingbird feeders. Four Baltimore Orioles were present simultaneously as they fought their way to the feeders. The adult males were very bright!

Baltimore Oriole

Little did I know that while I was enjoying these feeder birds, a Thick-billed Vireo was being seen at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. This would be a new ABA bird for me (although I saw quite a few in the Bahamas). I already had plans to go visit Miami this coming weekend. Here is to hoping the Vireo sticks around until Saturday!