Rufous the Red...

 "It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit." -Tolkien

 Whhhhrrrr. WHizzzzzz. Sounds like a mini helicopter when he dive bombs. Rufous Hummingbird is  one probably the bravest of all the hummingbirds. He will take on any other hummingbird, and any cat, human, other bird  when he feels like it. 

 He flies about 3200 km (200 Miles)  when migrating from Mexico or Central America.  He knows every flower, sugar-nectar feeder along the way. Orange with white trim and a vibrant orange throat, he is beautiful and unique.

 The female is smaller  and is green and white with some orange feathers. These little birds weigh in at only 2-5 grams. They thrive on nectar from flowers and feeders during daylight hours.

 Because they are so small, they are vulnerable to large birds and animals  that like to eat bugs.  And cats......unfortunately.

 Some remain  in California, preferring a California lifestyle. But the majority have been tracked as far as Alaska, when it is breeding season. The Rufous  in my garden showed up around the middle of March, right on time. They start to head back south in late summer.

 Rufous beat their wings about 1260 times a minute.

 Wings  have been clocked at 15-80 times a second.

 Fiesty and  fabulous.....

 He demands nectar....He will even scare away any other hummer in the area. 

 In the summer, some Rufous will gladly take over your flowers, then move on to another garden that may prove even more enticing.

 Make sugar water mixture for your feeder 1 cup of water to 1/4 cup sugar in the summer.  

 Keep it clean and change it every week. The mixture will tend to create mould, and will become toxic to the hummingbirds. So change it every week in summer. Cheap and easy to do.

 "How do they weigh a hummingbird?" -Calvin Trillin

 Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Species has been tagging Rufous for about 10 years I read just the other day.  Someone actually captures the little birds to put bands on their legs. It must be an amazing job.

 There is some decline of the species do to  the fact that their habitats are getting run over by urban developments.

 Rufous is  faithful to its migratory route. 

 They will return to the same patch of flowers,same feeder, year after year.

 Rufous nests in every state and province, except Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Hawaii.

 Aggressive beyond belief, somehow the Rufous survives against all odds.

 The female lays 2-3 eggs, that incubate for about 17 days, give or take. The chicks take off to start their own lives after about 27 days. It's been noted that a Rufous hummer can live about 8 years.

 Whizzzzzz. Whrrrrr. Wap-Wap-Wap.  Those Rufous wings  are on the move.....

 "A flash of harmless lightning.A mist of rainbow dyes. The burnished sunbeams  brightening from flower to flower he flies." 
                              -John B. Tabb

 2017 M McConachie Woods