As soon as we noticed a female hummingbird flitting around the pine trees this year we put up our feeders. We were prepared for a Summer of Hummingbirds :)
We put a feeder right outside the window by the front porch and a second one in the backyard Bradford Pear Tree.
The female quickly staked out her territory.
A second female showed up and there were battles to entertain us.
(I know this is not clear and I am very disappointed but you can see the little feet and the fanned tail of this female in battle)
We put up an Oriole Feeder for the Oriole we had seen and the female hummingbirds took that over too.
A third female showed up and we watched them fight over the 2 feeders in the front yard and going into the backyard to the one in the Bradford Pear Tree.
We started to notice all 3 of the females seem to be living in the Bradford Pear Tree but we haven't been able to find any nests yet.
All Summer we watched these females and waited for males to show up.
We were beginning to think there were not going to be any males here this year for some reason and wondered why?
We were getting a little sad about it.
We had really been looking forward to watching them become mates and raise babies.
Then ...
Finally...
As Summer came to an end...
A couple of males showed up.
I got my camera ready and what a treat...
At first I wasn't sure what color his chin was...
When he turned his head so the feathers of his chin were lit up by the sun I was surprised that they were gold...
I had never seen one this color before.
We were thrilled to have males here and something we had never seen before.
From the back we could see the tail feathers form a V-shape.
The feathers on the head and back go from green to blue.
With his little chest puffed out ...
He has the gold on his chin like shiny gold coins and the band of white
Then green and black on his belly
We had to look him up
Our little guy appears to be a Male Allen's Hummingbird.
For a few days the males darted around fighting over the feeders.
The females seemed to have taken a leave of absence.
Occasionally we would see one of the females at the feeder but mostly the females were staying in the Bradford Pear Tree so we figured, and hoped, they were nesting.
Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, they disappeared.
The males seem to have moved on.
For a few days it was quiet...
Too quiet :(
Where were our hummingbirds?
Then one of the females came and perched on the top of the pole that holds the feeder.
I had never seen any of them do that before.
She seemed to know I was there and she was just content to sit there in the sun while I took her picture.
She turned to face me but stayed there.
Looking at me for a moment... stillness.
Then ...
She started scratching herself...
Look at her little foot scratching her throat and behind her head
She turned around again and fluffed out her feathers so I took this photo
And then she flew off ...
Now we are just waiting to see if there will be any babies.
But the weather has already turned
The Summer seems to be over and Fall is already here.
~
Patty Hagedorn Photography
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