Anna wishing her bill is as long as the Sword-billed hummer.



I have not seen any hummers in my feeders for days? They are not coming to the local botanical gardens either. Where are they? I thought there is a large population of Anna's and Allen's living around S. California year round.

http://MichaelDanielHo.com>

Beautiful photo, Michael...My hummers disappear also around September. Not sure where they go either....

Karen
Southern California

Michael, Karen:

According to what I've read in Sheri Williamson's field guide, the population of Anna's Hummingbirds "often fluctuate seasonally" and nonbreeding birds may move to higher elevations.

Bearing in mind, however, that November through May is the breeding season in southern California, it may be that birds are retreating to their breeding territories for now. Even though Anna's are often photographed feeding cooperatively (far more regularly than, say, Ruby-throats), they can still be very competitive during breeding season. My guess is that in a month or so, you'll start seeing adult males around more, followed by females and young of the year.

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

Thanks for your insight, Kevin. I can always count on you to have an answer or explanation to my questions. Can't wait to get back my hummers when they used to 'swarm' my feeders a few months earlier. I did see one the other day visiting my feeders briefly.

http://MichaelDanielHo.com

Michael, what area of CA do you live in? There are so many different climates there. Can you give us more info on what sort of soil you have...sandy? hard clay? Adding compost to most poor soils will make them more to a plant's liking. If your soil dries out very fast, the compost will also help retain moisture. Can you create a hummingbird garden that you're able to water as needed, or will this be a planting that has to fend for itself?

Much of CA will be suitable for a wide variety of plants. I would recommend starting with some woody (perennial) salvias..greggii's would be good (several varieties/cultivars available). Off the top of my head, a couple of hybrids that might work well for you: 'Raspberry Delight' and 'Cherry Chief'. A favorite amongst my Anna's is 'Hot Lips'.

I would visit your local botanical garden and find someone to ask what pernnial salvias do well in your area. A knowledgeable person there should be able to suggest those and some other good hummingbird attracting plants.

If you start your garden with a backbone of a variety of salvias, plus some phygelius (cape fuchsia is a common name), you'd be off to a good start.I strongly recommend them, although they spread by underground runners & in time can become invasive. When they pop up, I just dig them up and pot them to trade, or plant them in more areas of my garden. 'African Queen' (one of the largest & most robust) and 'Trewidden Pink' are both winners in my hummer garden. Plant some of the annual nectar-producing salvias to fill in your bed while the perennials are getting established. Some that are recommended by forum members: Lady in Red (often available in nurseries as starter annuals in spring) or easily grown from seeds) and subrotunda. Yvonne's salvia (only available from individuals...not in nurseries or catalogs) makes large, impressive plants in a few months & waves quite a red flag to catch hummers' attention...my Anna's feed from these, but not as heavily as many others...I love it tho! Read older posts and you'll see discussions on these & others. Hang around here & keep posting - you may find someone with seeds to share.

Oh...a salvia I think should work well for late season hummers - Pinepple Sage. It's very attractive & the foliage does smell like fresh pineapple. In many parts of the country, it blooms after the hummers have left...but it's very nice for those of us on the West Coast. You can usually find inexpensive starts of this salvia amongst the herbs at many nurseries and/or the big box stores that have garden depts. Check Home Depot & Walmart.

Some hardy fuchsias very popular with hummers...not all produce a lot of nectar, but the following 2 are good...they can become pretty large, so you'd need a bit of space. They would also want protection from hot afternoon sun....and they love both good soil & regular watering. These are f. magellanica (2-3 red & purple forms, 1 with variegated leaves) and f. magellanica Alba aka Maidens Blush.which is a very pale pink/lavender. These bloom long & steady in the Pacific Northwest & are highly favored by my hummers.

There are many other plants for hummer gardens, but these are my suggestions that would get you started. I hope it gets you started...keep us posted.


Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Thanks for your info and suggestions, Patrick. I am in LA by the Foothills and my backyard soil is terrible. Don't have the patience to grow hummer attracting plants from seedlings but it is hard to find them in pots for transplant. I am afraid I am condemned to using feeders and make my contribution to the US sugar growers.

http://MichaelDanielHo.com

Plenty of Annas down in this part of SoCal. I'm at 1300 ft. elevation surrounded by trees. I usually have an increase in late Autumn during migration, but this year visits have slowly decreased since mid-summer. They are starting to visit the citrus blossoms more as their regular flowers are blooming less.

Still going through 2 or 3 quarts a day with six large feeders up, so I'm not complaining.



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Farmer Steve
Deluz, CA (hand-grown CA avocados) usda zone 10a

I guess you figured out that I meant to respond in another of your posts where you asked what to plant...I must be out of practice with my posting...lol! I must have gone astray when I had to start over...I went off looking up the names of the fucshias & that deleted the post I was writing.

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Beautiful capture of bird as well as flower...

Hi Michael,
I live in Central California and have had the same problem.For several years I have had 18 large feeders out and had to change 9 a day! Now I have four small feeders and I only fill them 1/4 of the way.Still,they don't finish it so I change it ever couple of days.I have plenty of hummer plants still thriving in my gardens but that doesn't seem to make a difference.

I guess some of us can call this an "off" year!!

Loved your photo

Fran

Hi Fran. I share your hummer blues. In the summer months, I go to my local botanical gardens and can photograph those little darlings all day long. Now I'll be lucky to see one or two every few days. Fortunately, I also photograph other birds and this time of the year, shore birds are quite plentiful around the coast. Wish I could share some of them with our viewers. Take a look at my web site.

http://MichaelDanielHo.com