Bird of the Week: Rufous Hummingbird

We’ll take a break from the pesky shorebirds and take a moment to look at one of nature’s marvels. Just one of the 338 known hummingbird species breeds in Alaska, the Rufous Hummingbird.

Rufous Hummingbird, Kachemak Bay

The Rufous Hummingbird is nothing less than astonishing. This tiny little 3.5 gram bird migrates thousands of kilometers, from the shores of Cook Inlet to northern Mexico. If you don’t find that amazing, your sense of wonder must be lost.

The female builds the nest and in just a few days after arriving, lays and starts incubating eggs. Three weeks later, the kids are fledged and after building fat reserves, migration south begins.

Two other species of hummingbirds occur in Alaska – Costa’s and Allen’s – but are not known to commonly breed here.

Kate McLaughlin, a regular reader and commenter here, does research on Rufous Hummingbirds in Prince William Sound.

Camera geek stuff: f8, 1/800, ISO1250.

For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.

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