Rufous Hummingbird

I planted our garden last weekend, and a little immature Rufous Hummingbird soon put a tomato cage to use as a perch.  The garden is right next to a huge, overgrown lavender plant the hummingbirds frequent pretty much year-round.  We have a big yellow kangaroo paw plant by our living room window that attracts several varieties of hummingbirds a little later in the year when the flowers are in full bloom.

I'm hopeful I'll get some better shots a little later when they are right outside our window and have matured into their adult plumage. 

My grandpa loved birds.  He had bird feeders and Martin houses and always had hummingbird feeders on the porch.  He and my grandma loved sitting on the porch watching the "hummies" buzz in so close you could feel the breeze from their wings.  Watching grandpa watch the hummies is the better part of the reason I like birds.

Rufous Hummingbird, April 24, 2010, identified in the National Geographic guide, photographed with the Nikon.