Dennis said:

Do male Rufous chase male Anna's? Female Rufous female Anna's? Maybe the
Rufous is territorial there, and the Anna's are "floaters."

I didn't realize Anna's were so common at Gig Harbor. 3 Anna's at a feeder
at once is rather unusual for this area, I thought.

>> Reply
The three times I witnessed this behavior, there were two female Anna's at
the feeder. I am not a hummingbird identification expert, but the birds looke
d closest to the female Anna's (including the "dot" on the throat). One male
rufous would buzz in fast and fan his tail (presumably to stop himself) and
then quickly chase the two females off the feeder. He never used the feeder
himself. I would guess that at least some of the Anna's are floaters.

I have noticed that this is not an area of dense hummingbird populations in
general, however the area in Cromwell that I live in is rich with vines and
flowers. It may also be possible that there are relatively few feeders in
the area.

One thing is for sure. After watching the junco's, towhees, chickadees for
the last few months, its really nice to have the little hummers zooming
around. One flew right up to my face and hovered for a second out in the
yard. I think I was in his way. Scared the wits out of me for a moment!

Eric Henriksen
Gig Harbor
ericboyd at aol.com