Mike in the Wild

The first of July is Rufous Hummingbird Day at my cabin in Prescott.  Like most years, that was the day this summer when I saw the first one of the season perching in the alligator juniper tree adjacent to my deck.  By the end of the week, that or some other male rufous had unsurprisingly supplanted a male Anna's as the new owner of my yard's hummingbird feeder.   Anna's hummingbirds can reside year-round in Prescott, many surviving winter's sub-zero temperatures and snowstorms.  To help them out during the arrival of the dominant rufouses, I installed a second sugar water feeder in my yard as soon I discovered the migrants.  Alas within a few days, another male rufous took control of that supply of nectar also.  Any Anna's imbibed only by daring occasional, furtive sips.   Before the arrival of the rufous, I began spotting an occasional black-chinned hummingbird at the feeder.  This bird is a summer visitor to the higher elevations of A...