OK, I am envious of the others who are seeing Rufous Hummingbirds at
their feeders. Our yard continues to be dominated by male Anna's
Hummingbirds and an occasional female Anna's. I was excited yesterday
afternoon, however, when I took a walk in Puget Gulch in the north end of
Tacoma, up Alder St. from Ruston Way on the waterfront. The purpose of
the walk was to check on and photograph the Anna's Hummingbird nest I
located a couple of weeks ago. I found the female sitting on her nest and
gazing down at me as I tried to digiscope some photos. The real treat
came a few minutes later as I walked down the trail and back toward the
car and I heard the chattering of two more Anna's Hummingbirds and was
able to track the female up to yet another nest closer to the road and
directly over the wide trail that cuts through the middle of the gulch.
Chalk that up as at least two nesting pairs of Anna's in this small
gulch! I plan to go back over the coming days and weeks to track the
progress of the nesting birds!

If anyone is interested in seeing the Anna's Hummingbird nests in Puget
Gulch, the newest find is the easiest to locate. Just walk up the trail
and over a pile of gravel in the middle of the trail until you reach an
area where members of the work crews cleaning up the gulch have dumped
invasive plant clippings in a growing pile of vegetation. Look up in the
tree on the west side of the trail, directly over the pile and about 20
feet up in a crook between branches and you will find the female Anna's
sitting on her nest.

Salmonberry and Indian plum are blooming in the gulch, so I would expect
to find Rufous Hummingbirds cruising the area and ducking out of the way
of the aggressive male Anna's Hummingbirds soon.

Happy birding!

--
Rob McNair-Huff ---------- Tacoma, WA
Author of Birding Washington (Falcon Publishing, 2004)
and Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula (Globe Pequot, 2001)
White Rabbit Publishing ---- http://www.whiterabbits.com
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com
The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html