Hummingbirds
August 16, 2023 - In early spring we noticed hummingbirds in the yard. They looked similar to the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) we knew from New England, as seen above, but these were different. They were noisy. That’s an understatement. When they fly they make a high pitched screaming noise. It isn’t a vocalization but their wings that make the noise. It’s funny to watch them because if you didn’t know it was their wings, you could imagine that they were flying so fast they scared themselves and were screaming in terror. We have watched their aggressive antics all summer. Occasionally you might hear one chirp or scold another bird. Their chirp is very different from the screaming wing sound. Here is a page where you can hear both their chirp and their wing buzz. In the recording, the birds must have been far away or the sound is turned down because the wing noise is much louder in person.
We returned from a trip last week to discover a change in the humming bird population. Now there are two species in the yard. The second one is even smaller than the first. They are much quieter. We noticed that they sit for several minutes without moving which makes them excellent photo subjects. In the process of photographing them we discovered that it looks like they are sleeping. Maybe they are only sunning themselves. Suddenly they look for a flower to snack on then return to their preferred spot.
We think they are migrating. That species of hummingbird travels up the Pacific coast to summer in northern Canada or as far north as Alaska then flies south via the Rockies down to Mexico for winters. They have a long way to travel. Lucky for them we have lots of flowers still blooming including hollyhocks and delphiniums.
The Screamers
We spent a couple of hours photographing them yesterday. First we have the Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) which over summer here. While these birds hover at the hollyhocks they are also hanging on. We think that the flowers might be so deep that the petals interfere with their wings while hovering so they half land while maintaining balance with their wings. But that is our speculation.
All of the above photos are action shots. When they land somewhere, they don’t stay long which makes photographing them at flowers much easier.
The Sleepers
These are the Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) that are passing through. In the first photo you can’t see it’s eye. We are fairly sure it is asleep with it’s tongue hanging out. The frames we captured before after this one shows it’s tongue was out for less then 8 seconds. So the bird is ok, just being weird while sleeping. Maybe it is dreaming of hollyhock nectar.
Notice the difference in the tail on this bird and the Broad-tail Hummingbirds above.
For size comparison, here is a normal size (large) bumblebee.
Update: The Rufous hummingbirds were here for about a week. There are still some Broad-tails around but some of them must have followed the Rufous south because it is much quieter here. I’m sorry to see them go but also happy to know that leaving means they have a good chance of finding food along their migration path.
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