A Stranger Among Us

​     At the peak of the season, hummingbirds were coming and going. The adult male Ruby-throats were guarding each of their feeders while the young were constantly trying to sneak a drink. Squeaking and squabbling was going on everywhere. It was a mix of excitement and anger as many of the young found our garden quite appetizing, while the adults were quite annoyed with their presence. For hours the squeaking continued, but one ornery little bird stood out among the rest. It sounded like the others but with a little more crankiness in it's tone. I thought nothing of it for the longest time, but eventually questioned the unusual sound coming from the back corner of our garden. It didn't stray from that area, but was loud enough to hear from the house. I slowly walked to the back corner and sat for a short while. It didn't take long before this stranger appeared in the Delphiniums around me, and it was only a matter of seconds before its flashes of copper made me aware it was a Rufous. For the remainder of that evening and the first hour the next morning I sat among the flowers trying to capture the rare Rufous. I managed a few decent shots, but by its awareness of me it kept a fair distance. 
     Juvenile Rufous hummingbird, N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. August 2016 

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