10 November 2014

Magnificent Hummingbird Morning


On Saturday I took a drive down to Boulder/Golden to see the lingering Magnificent Hummingbird that has been hanging out at a private residence.  Adam, the gracious hummingbird host, gave excellent directions and provided some wonderful insight to the bird before she showed up to the feeder.  


Luckily I was greeted on three separate occasions with her feeding on the deck in addition to watching her perch on nearby trees and performing some insect acrobatics.


I was struck by her size, her energy, and though it was great for me to see her, I do hope she gets the message that she should be heading south.  


The Magnificent Hummingbird shared feeder time with a group of Hairy Woodpeckers.  Though I was surprised to see her chase off one woodpecker and take back control of the nectar.  Of course when you're a hummingbird the size of a chickadee you can chase off larger birds.  I don't claim any amazing photographic efforts but I did love the photo below with her landing gear out as she goes in for a perch spot.


Adam's yard wasn't just hummers and woodpeckers.  I saw this friendly Mountain Chickadee, who graced the railing on multiple trips to and from the nearby seed feeder.


Overall it was a great morning on the Adam's deck soaking in a lovely lifer and observing all the other bird behavior.  The following birds were seen in my one hour visit: Magnificent Hummingbird, Mountain Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco, Clark's Nutcracker, House Finch, Cassin's Finch, and Brown Creeper.


Thanks Adam for sharing your beautiful deck and this lovely bird.  

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