Every year we see or hear about a variety of rare birds in Florida. It almost always happens during migrations. This year has brought us a Calliope Hummingbird which is native to the far western United States. According to Audubon, it is the smallest bird in North America. The bird we saw was either female or an immature male as the adult males have beautiful purple stripes on their throats.
This bird was visiting feeders with several ruby-throated hummingbirds at a residence east of Tampa. Fortunately, the homeowner is a bird watcher who was happy to let us try to photograph the rare sighting.
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
