The hummingbirds in our garden have been particularly active lately.
We already knew we had two of them. One was larger, with a greenish back and more neutral colors overall. The other was smaller and bright green, with a dark face.
We wondered if the two were a mated pair, but neither had the ruby throat that would identify it as male. Then I read that male ruby-throated hummingbirds develop that splash of red only as they grow. Watching their behavior, I realized we actually seemed to have a mother hummingbird and her young son.
Yesterday, I realized that the little male was beginning to develop a small red patch on one side of his throat, so I guess he’s growing up.
A little later, I noticed a THIRD hummingbird at one of our feeders. This one is also small and bright green, but his throat has more of its ruby coloring. Hummingbirds generally do lay two eggs. So now I’m thinking we have a mom and her twin boys.
I’m calling them Molly, Fred, and George. So far, I haven’t gotten a good photo of Fred; the one above is a bit blurry. But I’ll keep trying.
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