Tag Archive | Black Chinned Hummingbirds

Final Flurry & Fotos~

Aug8

Of flying fairies.

It’s a bit tricky to take a photo and feed a hummer at the same time!

Most of The Holler Hummers are packing on calories now to prepare for migration.

Black Chinned Hummingbirds, like the one pictured above, travel to western Mexico or the Gulf.

Rufous Hummingbirds (above) have one of the largest migratory bird journeys in the world, flying up to 3,900 miles each year. Rufous populations are in decline due to habitat destruction and they are now designated a threatened species.

Some Anna’s hummingbirds stay year round at The Holler.

Responsibly maintained backyard bird feeders have helped vulnerable hummingbird species thrive.

They have brought dwindling population numbers up and expanded the territory of many species.

During migration, hummingbird hearts can beat over 1200 times per minute, their wings can flap 80 times per second, and they often fly alone.

Cheers to you from The Holler’s magical flying fairies~

Winged Lightning~

Jul21

Of all The Holler’s,

flying folks,

Hummer’s are the fastest of the fast.

They pause, only seconds, to sip,

and then flash by,

like winged-lightning.

Cheers to you from the The Holler’s fastest flying folks~

Hummer’s Mean Home: Part I (Perching)~

May28

Coming home means hanging out with the hummers.

I don’t worry about them when I’m gone.

I just miss them.

My husband, the actual-factual, logical-biostatistician, said incredulously, “They fly up to me like they missed me.”

He’s not used to thinking like this,

but he can’t help noticing such obvious birdy behavior.

Speaking of birdy behavior, we are having a problem this year.

The snoozing little capitalist you see above is dominating two quart-sized feeders and relentlessly attacking and driving all hummers off who try to feed. He spends more time hoarding nectar than feeding and snoozes all the time because he’s exhausted from all his effort. Of course he can’t even begin to drink this much nectar!

You can see him perched on the wire above the feeder, waiting to attack any bird that dares to drink! We have three feeders now spaced far apart to control him, one in a bush that is impossible for him to monitor, but when I shut one of “his” feeders down, he goes to dominate another. We have never had such a greedy little guy and he reigns unchallenged. I hope he’s not learning this behavior from watching humans! 😉

Cheers to you from the harmonious Holler Hummers….(and the one little greedy guy)~

Hummer’s Mean Home: Part II (Flying)~

May28

If you read Part I, you know about the greedy little capitalist. Above is one of his victims with a feather askew from a direct hit!

Here is another escaping his wrath.

The good news is, moving one of the greedy guy’s feeders into the bushes worked, and he is now under control.

Birds are feeding and flying freely once again at The Holler.

We now have three feeders up and about twenty birds actively feeding. This is less than prior years, probably because the persistent drought has ended, and The Holler and all the surrounding orchards are abloom with flowers, giving the hummers lots of dining options.

The orioles and Grosbeaks are here at the feeders too, also in smaller numbers for the same reason.

So once again, peace and harmony reigns at The Holler!

Cheers to you from The Holler’s Harmonious Hummers~

Holler Hummer Home~

Jul21

This hummingbird has quite a long tongue for a tiny little creature doesn’t he?

It’s good to be home, because the Holler Hummer’s live here, and I missed them!

I counted 35 today, at our three, 40 ounce feeders.

Anna’s, Black Chinned, Allen’s and Rufous hummingbirds live at The Holler.

I read in an online hummingbird forum that people don’t believe that feeders get more than one or two birds each.

They should stop by The Holler around 6pm when each feeder is mobbed by more than 10 hummers.

Hummers have the largest brain to body mass of any bird in the world i.e., they are clever little buzzers.

These tiny birds can migrate 1000’s of miles.

But many call the Holler home year round.

Which is why, there is no place like home!
Cheers to you from the astonishing, numerous, and quite clever, Holler Hummers~

Lethal Enforcers~

Apr6

Four quarts of nectar were being consumed by The Holler Hummers in 48 hours. But now, each two quart bottle of nectar, has it’s own lethal enforcer, who will attack any hummer who tries to feed. So one hummingbird controls 2 quarts of nectar!

The most lethal enforcer is the guy above. You can see he has a malformed beak that he may have gotten in one of his many battles. He is like a capitalist robber barron, hoarding riches he will never be able to consume.

Here is enforcer number two. Both enforcers have visble differences from the other hummers, the beak malformation in number one, and number two is the only black chinned hummingbird at The Holler.

The other hummers snatch nectar when they can, but most have given up and go feed on the flowers. I think they are the smarter ones. Who wants to waste all this energy fighting?

All the hummers who do attempt the feeders are intensely leery of attack from above.

They are constantly ready to self defend!

I understand that hummingbirds need to feed constantly because of their hyper-drive metabolisms, but I don’t understand how all this relentless attacking is adaptive for them as a species.

They remind me of human governments that hoard resources and launch vicious attacks for control. I wonder why they, and we, can’t all just share and get along?
Cheers to you from The Holler’s sometimes too “human-like” hummers~

Natures Jewels!

Oct15

These are my favorite jewels! (Click to enlarge).

Whenever I go on a trip, I worry about the hummingbirds.

I am always relieved to find them hale, hearty, and bickersome!

How long can I force myself to go without posting about The Holler Hummingbirds?

Just about as long as my trip!

I can’t resist them!

Can you?

Cheers to you from all The Holler Hummers (and their dutiful human!)

HHH! (Last Post on Topic for Awhile)

Aug3

I wanted you to see the “Hordes of Holler Hummers,” not just individual shots.

Hummingbirds are quite aggressive with each other and constantly are in squabbles over the feeder. Here are some shots of them co-operating which is happening more and more, probably because no new hummingbirds have moved in recently. They are all “locs” now even the previously bullied “purple-throated guy!” You can see him in the photos below holding his own, but still not fully part of the group of Annas. He is a Black Chinned Hummingbird. The others are Annas.

We have about ten active hummingbirds that are locals in this part of our garden. Others are in the orchards. The guy with his back to you looking scruffy, is the juvenile that flew into the window. You can see he is doing well. His wing is injured but it doesn’t affect his flying.

Can’t resist a couple singles…..

Pretty little guys aren’t they?

This will be my last post on Hummers for awhile as I realize not everyone is as captivated by them as I am! When I am a really old lady, I promise I will not have hummingbird tchotochkes covering ever surface my house! But….. I already have hummingbird hand towels and coffee mugs, so maybe I shouldn’t make too firm a promise!!
Thanks for bearing with me. Heading off to Anza Borrego Desert State Park now and should be posting from there soon. Cheers to you from The Holler & have a great weekend!