Over the last week or so I've seen male Rufous Hummingbirds on several different occasions. I was lucky enough to get some decent shots, even though it was dark and rainy. My strategy was to use a slow shutter speed and take several hundred exposures, and hope for a few sharp ones. I have noticed (last year, and this year as well) that these Hummingbirds (or maybe it's just one individual) seem to sit still for a while, which does help in getting photos. Strangely, I haven't seen any female Rufous yet this year.

Another unusual backyard visitor was a Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, which I've only seen in the yard once before, during the fall migration a couple years ago.

These photos are © 2023 Phil Thompson, all rights reserved.

My "birds in review" collages can be found here.