What gender is this hummer?

Sorry this is not a very good photo, but that's as good as I could get. This Ruby-throat hummer won't let me get any closer. This photo was shot through a french door window and through a screened porch using my zoom. So with the current camera I have, it won't get any better than this.

Is this a female? Or a juvenile male? This bird (or one exactly like it) seems to stay year round in my yard now. All the plants died with the unusual freezing temps we got last week and so this hummer is guarding it's
feeder now. Which sure makes it easier to spot it!

Becky, I'm not an expert but do see lots of RT Hummers in the summer. This one looks like a female to me...I think if it was an immature male it would have the "5 o'clock shadow" at this stage. You are so lucky to have a Hummer and I am very jealous!!

I wish I could help you - but I don't know what gender it is. I looked on

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruby-throated_hummingbird/id

and still can't tell you which it is.

Sorry,
Hack

Dellrose and Hack - Thank you for responding! I believe that it is a female that I have had as a resident for the past year. I also am wondering if perhaps she has had offspring. For about 2 months now, I've seen TWO hummers. Her and another one and of course they are fighting over the feeder.

Well, I finally got some brains and moved one of the 2 feeders to the front yard. So now I am seeing this other RTH. I am positive that this is NOT the same bird as the female in the backyard. This bird always sits while eating and doesn't freak to see me looking at it through the front window. (The female usually eats in flight, but I managed to get a rare photo of her sitting in the above photo! I think she was guarding the feeder, more than eating! lol) I finally managed to get a photo of this other RTH today.

It looks like it has a five o'clock shadow, so I am thinking it might be a juvie male. Can anyone confirm my suspicions from this blurry photo? Sorry, but my camera is a cheapie one.

Here's another shot of it eating. It's chest doesn't appear to be as white as the female in the backyard.

Becky..I can't say for sure if that second one is an immature male. The best way to tell is to watch for any ruby colored feathers around the neck area. Wish I could be more helpful...but I am too jealous!! LOL! You are soooo lucky...have fun with these beauties and please add more pics when you get them!

Thanks dellrose! It took me 3 years to finally attract hummers to my location. Now it seems at least a few are here year round, so my persistance and patience paid off! I am thrilled to have them here in my yard!

I honestly don't know how frequent hummers come to my area. I don't think they come in abundance. I think it is sporatic and infrequent, but I really don't know for sure. With de-forestation and global warming, I am wondering if I should expect to see more of them? I have also heard that sometimes they get blown here during hurricanes from the islands out in the Atlantic as well as from the Gulf. I've never seen any other species of hummers except the RTH. I know they are more commonly seen on the west coast of Florida and not so much the east coast where I am. Though I wonder if they do come south all the way to Miami during the winter months? I am not sure.

There is a slim possibility that I might have someone come and band the ones in my yard to see if they are year round residents. But that's really iffy at the moment. Apparently no one here on the east coast has studied them - their habits and movement. I had only one a year ago. Now I have 2 it seems. Perhaps over time, I'll have even more. I would be thrilled for sure! :-) I've never seen more than one at the feeder. Mine are too territorial to share. I may have to purchase a few more feeders to space them around my yard to attract more. Now that I am seeing them regularly, it is worth the small investment to do so. :-)

Thanks for trying to help me on determining the gender of my two birds. :-)

Watch the hummers trough the upcoming months. I you see the crimson red appear on its neck you have a male (on some of my males the red is so dark, you'd think it was black) . If there is not red, you have a female.

Hack

Becky...that would be very cool if the bird is banded. I did not know that they are not normally seen on the east coast of Florida.
JuneyBug just posted a link showing an Annas Hummer found in Cape Cod...they are normally west coast birds so anything is possible.

Be sure to update so we can enjoy your flying jewels!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8140760

This person wrote a poem about hummers.

John - Nice poetry! I forgot all about this thread! Looks like the same bird that is in my yard from January! LOL!

Remember this thread?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/875167/
This was a cute photo: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7373358