STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTOS BY JOHN BOYDSTON
It’s always a thrill to find a teeny tiny hummingbird hovering in the air in front of you, their tiny wings beating up to 80 flaps per second.
Many Wood River Valley residents commented that they rarely saw a hummingbird this summer, as opposed to the dozens upon dozens they spotted in previous summers.
But that was not a problem for John Boydston. He just stepped out on the deck of his Sun Valley home. And there they were—like the ever-present nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in “Bewitched.”
Boydston doesn’t profess to be an expert in hummingbirds. But he’s pretty sure most of the hummingbirds he shoots are the Rufous hummingbird.
They’re among the most common hummingbirds in Idaho, along with the black-chinned, broad-tailed and calliope hummingbirds. And they’re also the most aggressive, often attacking and driving others away from feeders.
They are very territorial and apparently stake out an area and spend half their time guarding it and chasing off interlopers.
The females tend to have a little green above rusty flanks, as well as rusty patches on their green tails and sometimes a spot of orange on the throat.
“We have so many around our deck in Sun Valley,” said Boydston. “I used to be happy just getting a good shot at the feeder. But with them checking the flowers, I’ve had a chance to experiment with various backgrounds and light. Fun!”
Hummingbirds are named for the humming sound their wings make when hovering. It’s said they can also use their humming sound to alert other birds of potential predators. They can live up to a decade, although most North American species probably live between 3 to 5 years.
The hummingbird family contains the third most species of any bird family after flycatchers and tanagers.
In 2013 a 50-million-year-old bird fossil found in Wyoming was determined to be a predecessor to hummingbirds and swifts before those groups diverged. It’s believed the modern hummingbird originated in South America, which boasts many more species than Sun Valley.