Cool Hummings

[AlanLichty]

We are hours away from a major episode of freezing rain in the Portland/Vancouver area with pretty cold temps for our area (in the low 20's) and cooler yet coming overnight. By this time tomorrow we are supposed to get around 1/2" of ice.

As best I can tell the Anna's hummingbirds that stick around for our winters are a bit on the frantic side fueling up for the event and going nuts around our feeders. Lots of territorial behaviors can be seen at each of the four feeders around our house. In this case my wife hung up a small perch/swing near one just outside of our kitchen and this particular hummer is using it as a guard post to keep others away from a feeder about 2' away. I decided to see if I could sneak a shot from inside the house and came up with this one a little while ago.

C&C always welcome.

 

[JimFox]

That's pretty cool Alan. To see a hummingbird not in motion is always so crazy to me. And that little swing is so cool.

 

[AlanLichty]

That's pretty cool Alan. To see a hummingbird not in motion is always so crazy to me. And that little swing is so cool.

Thanks Jim - with four feeders around our house we see and hear them perched in our trees all the time. They chirp at such a high pitch that they almost sound like insects so once I got used to their song I could pick them out easily. This little guy rarely stayed put for long and attacked any interlopers on HIS feeder. He has several alternate perches in between jousts.

 

[Eric Gofreed]

Wonderful photo Alan. I bring the feeders in at night so they don't freeze solid or get covered with snow. I think she is an Anna's hummingbird too. Hard to tell from the photo, however, if there are green spots on his sides, she is an Anna's

 

[AlanLichty]

Wonderful photo Alan. I bring the feeders in at night so they don't freeze solid or get covered with snow. I think she is an Anna's hummingbird too. Hard to tell from the photo, however, if there are green spots on his sides, she is an Anna's

Thanks Eric - I am pretty sure this is an Anna's as they are year round residents here. Three of the feeders are inside now for the night to thaw out and will be put back out just before dawn tomorrow. One will need either my spiked snowshoes or ice cleats to put back out in the morning.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Neat shot Alan.

 

[AlanLichty]

Wonderful photo Alan. I bring the feeders in at night so they don't freeze solid or get covered with snow. I think she is an Anna's hummingbird too. Hard to tell from the photo, however, if there are green spots on his sides, she is an Anna's

One other marking of note - the dark spot on the neck here turns iridescent red when the bird is facing you so I think it's a male. It looks dark from the side here but I have other shots from other angles as well.

 

[AlanLichty]

Neat shot Alan.

Thanks Ben.