Hummingbird Calypte Anna #2

The previous post I made of a photo of a Anna's hummingbird was taken side-on and the feathers of the neck and head are a brownish black. Here we see our little beauty, whose official name is "Calypte Anna", facing us which shows how the color of his neck and head features display as a bright rose. I presume this scares off other competitors for the nectar feeder as they come barrelling down on any intruders.

It is quite inexpensive to feed hummingbirds in your yard. Once you have bought the feeder from your local garden nursery or hardware store, you can make the nectar yourself at home with ordinary white sugar. Here's my recipe for hummingbird feeder nectar: make a 25% solution of white sugar and water. That's it! So for example, I make 8 cup batches at a time, so I first of all measure out 2 cups of sugar and then add 6 cups of warm water to make up a total of 8 cups. Stir it for long enough to dissolve the sugar. It doesn't need to be colored; I know in the stores it's sold with red food coloring in the solution, but the hummers will be attracted by the fake flowers and colors on the feeder itself. Do NOT use powdered (icing) sugar!

How do you attract hummingbirds to your garden feeder? Well, first of all you have to live in an area where hummingbirds live. In warmer parts of the US some varieties, such as the Anna pictured above, don't migrate at all and you will delight in seeing them in your garden year-round. In colder parts, you may only have them during a season. So, presuming you live in an area with hummingbirds, just buy a feeder, fill it with nectar solution, and hang it from a tree branch or other convenient spot. It may take a few weeks for the birds to find it, but once they have, you'll have them as long as you feed them. And once you start, you shouldn't stop as they will come to rely on you especially in the winter and spring.

Bird Photo Gallery - Broadband Flash Gallery

Bird Photo Gallery - Dial Up Optimized

Cannon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
1/30 secs at f 5/6
ISO 400

Anna's Hummingbird #1

Anna's hummingbirds live in my garden here in Southern California year round. I encourage them with hummingbird feeders in my garden and the action is non-stop year round. Visitors always delight in the show. This year has been the best ever. I guess my garden must be "on the map"; in the spring there were up to 5 birds feeding at the same time.

It seems to be that in the spring during breeding season they are less territorial and feed together, but as the year progresses into summer, a dominant bird will take ownership of a feeder and stand guard over it from sunup to sundown clicking away all day long. It's a battle royal, and at times the birds actually manage to get a hold of each other and I have actually seen them wrestling on the deck! I kid you not. Mostly it's a matter of dive-bombing interlopers, and some of them will not give up easily. One night evening last week I just couldn't believe the fights going on out there with kamikaze pilot hummers bombing each other with a great cacophony of angry sounds to go with it. There are times when a bird will fly up vertically to what seems like a hundred feet or more and then will dive at immense speed making an incredible high-pitched whizzing sound with his wings.

This is a photo of one of the bosses in the garden right now. That's him standing sentry over "his" feeder. From the side their necks and heads look dark brown to black, but when they face you the light catches their features and turns them an iridescent rose color. The next post will show that. And I'll also share with you my recipe for the nectar for a hummingbird feeder.

Bird Photo Gallery - Broadband Flash Gallery

Bird Photo Gallery - Dial Up Optimized

Cannon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
1/80 secs at f 5/6
ISO 400