I discovered, to my delight, that
Teddy & Roo's yard turns into a hummingbird paradise in the summer, with the jewel-like birds zipping to and fro, feeding at the flowers and fighting over the three feeders. Anna's hummingbirds were the dominate species, but rufous hummingbirds made appearances, too.
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| The fiery blooms of the crocosmia were a hummingbird favorite. |
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| A rufous hummingbird feeds on one of several hummingbird-friendly flower species in Teddy & Roo's yard. |
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| A male Anna's hummingbird perches on one of the feeders. |
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| A hummingbird steadies itself as it lands on the feeder perch. |
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| Full of sugar water, a juvenile Anna's hummingbird takes flight. |
I've broken down this post in to two parts for the purpose of imposing a sort of order on collection of photos: pictures of the birds at rest and pictures of the birds on the wing. You can click on the photographs to enlarge them. Enjoy!
Perching Hummingbirds
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| Settling on a crocosmia stem. |
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| An unusually ruffled-looking youngster gleaming beside a crocosmia's red flowers. |
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| An arching stem of ivy makes a perfect perch. |
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| Hummingbirds have tiny little feet. Here, one grasps the spent receptacle of a crocosmia flower. |
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| This resting hummer's head is dusted with pollen. In this way, it pollinates the flowers it feeds on. |
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| A stretching hummingbird makes a fearsome-looking creature! |
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| A flashy male Anna's hummingbird settles on a conspicuous perch. |
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| The iridescent head of the male Anna's is a showstopper! |
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| A male Anna's hummingbird sticking out his tongue. |
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| This juvenile male's iridescent head feathers are just starting to grow in. |
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| Battle over the feeders and flowers was fierce, so when the hummingbirds wished to rest, they usually did so out of sight, like this Anna's hiding in the shelter of a shrub. |
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| This juvenile Anna's hummingbird rather anxiously tracks the noisy flight... |
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| ...of hummingbirds... |
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| ...chasing each other away from the contested feeders. |
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| Sometimes a hummingbird can feed while clinging to stem. |
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| A grip on a plant can help hold you steady while hovering! |
Flying Hummingbirds
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| A hummingbird maneuvering through the flowers. |
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| A hovering rufous hummingbird. |
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| An Anna's hummingbird feeding on the wing. |
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| The bold black-and-white undersides of an Anna hummingbird's tail feathers are in full display as it eases down to perch on a stem. |
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| Pollen is deposited on the top of this hummingbird's head as it feeds. It will pollinate these crocosmia as it moves from flower to flower. |
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| An inquisitive hummingbird hovers over the photographer. |
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| Hummingbirds can fly in every direction as well as hang still in midair! |
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| This hummingbird is flying in reverse, backing away from the flowers where it has been feeding. No other bird species can fly backwards! |
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| Hummingbirds flap their wings in a figure-eight motion--you catch a glimpse in this photo of how the wing flexes and turns rather than beating up and down. |
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| Watching a hovering hummingbird feed on flowers is one of life's great pleasures, in my opinion. |
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| I find them so marvelous that I'm flattered when one of these gorgeous birds takes notice of me! |
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| Their beauty and amazing maneuverability make hummingbirds one of my very favorite things to photograph! |
