Hi Tweets,

As I was walking past a densely overgrown wetland on this gray afternoon, a movement caught my eye, and for several minutes I watched a golden hummingbird foraging in the shrubbery. I have to conclude it was an Anna?s because, well, it?s January in Seattle. But I was pretty surprised how consistently golden it looked. I?ve seen that gold plumage tone occasionally and briefly on sunny days when the sun angle was just right or when I was using a flash. But today was a gray day here, and the bird was deep in a shady shrubby area, and the light coming behind me was brighter but still gray, and I wasn?t using a flash. He or she stayed golden-looking the entire time, never looked green, even when it was under a leaf. Maybe a juvenile?

Photos are pretty uniformly poor because of the poor light and the photographer?s limited skill in making appropriate adjustments, but you can still see what I mean by ?golden?; take a look if you like:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/

Thanks to Jim Danzenbaker, as usual, for his thoughtful reflections on the sighting.

Good birding to all,
Trileigh

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Trileigh Tucker
Lincoln Park, West Seattle
Natural history website: Naturalpresencearts.com<Naturalpresence.wordpress.com>
Photography: Flickr.com/photos/trileigh