Hummer Territory

A few weeks ago my garden had its first Hummingbird visitor of the summer.Very exciting. I have been trying to get a photo ever since but they are sooo fast. However I did get a few photos last year so I am posting those. These photos really don't show their beauty. They have a slight reddish color staining their plump little white bellies and their backs are a variety of greens and blues. They have the tiniest little feet! They make kind of a kissing sound. I believe our Hummers are Calliope Hummingbirds, they even have a pretty name.

This year we have three visitors and they are constantly chasing each other off! They have fascinating aerial battles all day long. When we are outside we watch these little guys do "fly bys", they zoom right past your head, so close you can feel the air move from their wings.

I saw a photo somewhere of a feeder with four Hummers on it at once, that will never happen here. My guys are VERY territorial, they will not let another Hummer near. It is really crazy, I currently have three different feeders spread throughout the garden and all three of the Hummers seem to think that all three of the feeders and ALL the flowers are theirs and theirs alone! They spend far more time defending the food than eating it, and there is plenty to go around if they could just learn to share.

The feeder in the photos above had four little red perches for the birds to land on, but the raccoons pull down the feeders and suck out the sugar water and in the process they broke it.There are little teeth marks all around the holes. :) Their tiny feet are so cute wrapped around a perch. Hummers that is, not raccoons.

I have read that our Hummers fly from Mexico to Canada and back again, stopping off at flowers and feeders all along the way. If a feeder is put out year after year the Hummers remember and make your house a regular place to stop! Isn't that fantastic?