Will His Reign Continue?

​   This was the king of the yard last year. This perch sits right above one of his feeders. It was early in the year and he was the dominant male who owned all rights to the yard. No other male was allowed unless he snuck in without being noticed, and every female that showed up was greeted by his handsome charm. 
   There are many of us now wondering whether our previous birds will rule and reign for another year. I know for sure Ziggy had 2 successful years, and I'm very curious to see if he'll make it back for another season. He was very unique in his flight pattern, which gave him the name Ziggy and confirmed his identity. 
   As written in past posts, you can always tell the mood of a hummingbird by their pose. Ziggy, being a very proud male, let himself be known to all his territory and sat quite content in the lower image as all his tail feathers are combed tightly together to form a point. On the top he is showing a bit of anger with the split tail. From contentment to utter contempt, you can read these birds by how wide the tail feathers split apart. Adult Male Ruby-throated hummingbird. N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta. 2015.