With a flash of iridescence and a blur of wings, a male Anna's hummingbird arrives to taste the nectars of spring. A rhododendron in bloom is the destination, but small insects could be the target as well.

The Anna's hummingbird is the only "hummer" with a rose-red crown and gorget of iridescent feathers on the throat. It is also the only hummer to remain throughout most of the West Coast in winter.

Emily Dickinson, the poet, called the hummingbird's flight "a route of evanescence" because of th way this tiny bird drops in - glimmers - and is gone.

- Terry Isaac