The Rufous Hummingbird is a brilliant bird, orange in the male, orange and green in the female. When you see one, at a glance, you might say to yourself, "Oh, it's just another hummingbird (as if there could be such a thing)." But then you realize that it's not just any hummingbird. No, you're seeing something unique: a Rufous Hummingbird on its way north. Savor that moment. Right now, the Rufous Hummingbirds are passing through California on their way from Central Mexico where they winter, to the Pacific Northwest and Canada where they breed. The Rufous Hummingbird has a strange migration, because it doesn’t necessarily come back the way it came. While it will go northward along the coast, it typically comes back southward through Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico. So get a good look in the spring while you can. Look below the fold for more information about their whereabouts (photo by Glen Tepke):

Here's the eBird map of Rufous Hummingbird sightings from February of this year, and we can see them starting to appear throughout coastal California:

In March, things were obviously getting pretty active:

And, in this latest capture showing the first ten days of April, things are obvious still pretty active for the Rufous Hummingbird, with large numbers reaching all the way up to Washington:

Get outside and get a look at these marvelous birds while you can.