“Birds are flowers flying and flowers are perched birds.” Perhaps nature writer A.R. Anons wrote this while viewing rufous hummingbirds in his flower garden. Glowing in the sun like fiery flowers, these vibrant and energetic birds are easily identified. Green-backed females are overshadowed by the spectacular males with their flaming red-orange throats and reddish-brown backs that give the species its name.

Sometimes while watching these lovely little creatures flitting amongst your petunias, it is hard to believe how suddenly pugnacious they can become. Male rufous hummingbirds dash at rivals in an attempt to protect their breeding territory and food sources. At the same time they try to dazzle mates with courtship flights, in which they swing down from high in the air like a feathered fireball, then suddenly rise for another dive. Their speed has been recorded at seventy-five miles per hour!

From its winter home in Mexico the rufous hummingbird annually migrates north as far as southern Alaska making it one of the champion distance travelers in the “hummer” family. Beginning in mid-April we eagerly await their return to Leavenworth to breed. The males arrive first to establish their territory and it is not unusual for them to return to the same breeding spot as the previous year. So, if you set out a hummingbird feeder last year, watch for the returning males comically signaling outside your window. They are hungry, thirsty, feisty and asking (demanding!) that you put out a feeder! Time how long it takes for them to discover it!