Buff-bellied Hummingbird at Roma Bluffs

One of the nice aspects of birding in South Texas in winter is the chance to see hummingbirds.  Some overwinter and others just show up at feeders.  The Anna’s that we saw at Goose Island was of the latter category.  So was an Allen’s that we missed in Bentson State Park the other day.

Saturday we went down to the Roma Bluffs World Birding Center site — one of six such sights in the Lower Valley of Texas.  Roma get some hummers including this Buff-Bellied Hummingbird – one of the species that has been there all winter.  They have a few of these and they are relatively tame — allowing visitors to get rather close.  Mary noted that given their irridescent green back, they are misnamed buff-belly.

We missed a Black-Chinned Hummingbird that supposedly shows up but hope to catch up with one further west.  Coming from a state which usually just gets Ruby-throated hummers, it’s quite something to have a chance to see so many varieties.  And in the months ahead, after we’ve left, there will be dozens of varieties.

As an aviator, as a novice birder, just as an observer – they are just amazing creatures to watch and appreciate.  Feisty, beautiful, spectacular, mesmerizing.