hummer

One of spring's brightest signs is the return of the hummingbird. This first-sighted specimen was caught by amateur photographer Bob Deroy at his home in Springfield, Missouri. (We very much appreciate his sharing it with us.) The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only one of the 335 hummingbird species regularly seen in Missouri. So says an absolutely fascinating article "Nature's Helicopters" in the May 2008 issue of Missouri Conservationist. You can read it for yourself here.