Costa'sTwitch

Friday night came the report of an apparent Costa's Hummingbird about an hour away. The posted photos were compelling and with an impending cold front due to arrive on Sunday, it looked like I was going to have to make the attempt on Saturday.
For the first time the boys have had to endure a twitch with their Dad. Laura was busy and I had the boys for the day so I loaded them in the car with a promise of Dairy Queen on the way home.
Turns out that I really didn't need the Dairy Queen bribe. Our hosts, Don and Holly Minnerath had a swing set and trampoline in the backyard, along with a beagle, a couple of bunnies and bantam chickens. All of that plus their very gracious daughter Leah kept the boys so entertained that they didn't want to leave when it was time to go.
I also had a good time. Don and Holly have a wonderful backyard with great bird habitat and on top of that they were great people to visit with as well. I was guided through the yard to a seat on the porch and within a few minutes of my arrival the bird descended to the hummingbird feeder for a sip, then flew a short distance from the feeder to perch on a twig.



I had great looks of this little guy. He eventually disappeared into the backyard, but I was also able to see at least one Rufous Hummingbird (another fairly rare bird in this part of Montana). Don and Holly also told me they have had a number of hummingbirds this fall including our more expected Ruby-throated as well as the much more rare (as far a we know right now) Black-chinned Hummingbirds.