Subject: Rufous hummer? South Seattle
Date: Feb 27 20:31:33 2001
From: Squeakyfiddle at aol.com - Squeakyfiddle at aol.com


Boy, I hesitate to report this. I've checked around and I think it's just too
early. But. Yesterday was sitting on the back porch around 4:30 admiring the
house finches in the pear tree- in the late afternoon light they looked like
ripe peaches. Then noticed a hummingbird. It zipped into sight in the shadow
of the neighbor's garage and hovered. I figured it was the Anna's that has
been gracing the garden all winter. Then it moved into the sunlight and all
I could see was red. Head, tail, and when it turned, belly. Red. I got about
10 seconds of viewing before it flew out of sight into the neighbors yard.

What's the probability that this was a Rufous? Or, given the angle of light
and the tricks of iridescence, an Anna's that just looked red? I checked Mike
Patterson's hummer report, and there was a definitive Rufous on the southern
Oregon coast on the 18th. How quickly do they cover ground when they're
migrating? Do they show up earlier in years of warm winter weather? There are
Osoberry blooming in the open places in the neighborhood, but my red-currant
bushes are barely showing new leaves. Sorry about all the questions. I
suddenly realized that I know very little about hummingbird arrival dates and
migration patterns.

Catherine Alexander
squeakyfiddle at aol.com