Have you been out to Bolsa Chica recently?  If you have, you’ve seen all the flowers, including one of our bird of the month’s favorite flower Bladderpod, blooming.  Our little feathered friend (3.75″ long; 4.25″ wing span; 0.11oz) for May will defend his territory by chasing any animal it deems a threat regardless of size, and attracts mates with an impressive dive display in the shape of a ‘J’.  It is also not afraid to whiz right past a human, often times startling the poor unsuspecting soul.

May’s bird of the month is our feisty Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)!!!!

Hummingbirds are the smallest group of birds in the world.  Allen’s hummingbirds are found from Oregon down to central Mexico.  They are often confused with their cousins the Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) who are also orange with the occasional green.  One of the best, but not easy, ways to distinguish them is by their outermost tail feathers.  Rufous hummingbirds have wide or broad outermost tail feathers, while Allen’s hummingbirds have narrow outermost tail feathers.  Yeah, subtle, we know, but what would life be without challenges right (or not)?!  Behaviorally, rufous hummingbirds tend to be more aggressive and feisty than Allen’s hummingbirds.

To learn more about the Allen’s Hummingbird visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology or the Audubon

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Learn more about the Year of the Bird from: Audubon, BirdLife International, National Geographic, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Watch the birds of Bolsa Chica live on our Eco-Cam!

Photo: Scott Thompson