Educate Yourself About the Anna's Hummingbird and Other Hummingbirds
Anna's Hummingbird
The Anna’s Hummingbird has a short, straight bill, long, sloping forehead, dark head with pale eye-ring, red crown and throat, wings appear blurred as they fly, gray-edged tail feathers, and the tail is stationary and in line with the body. Its length is 3-4in (9-10cm)
Its wingspan is 4in (13cm) Its voice is a song consisting of squeaking, grating calls, the feeding call is “chick”. Their eggs are pure white with 1 clutch consisting of 2 (1-3) eggs. The female incubates for about 14-19 days, and fledging time is around 18-23 days. The female feed their young. The female resembles other western species witch are mostly green above and whitish below, but for a husky build, gray chest, and a patch of rose-red in the center of the throat.
The Anna’s Hummingbird is one of the largest hummingbirds can be found in Central, and South America, and in most states of the U.S., except for a few areas in the Plains states. You will find them in most backyards, and gardens but like the open woodlands, and shrubby areas as well. In winter time they will migrate southward, but returns in spring time, as their migration route follows the flowering shrubs.
These beautiful little living jewels, with their shimmering feathers, and their ever lasting energy is a true joy to have around. Hummingbirds come in a wonderful variety of colors, from green to bronze, and purple, blue, red, pink and orange. They are excellent little flying machines as well, as you can watch them stay stationary or move forward, backward, and sideways. When they are stationary you can actually hear their fast beating wings making a humming sound.
From all this constant movement they have to feed almost constantly throughout the day, and when nesting season begins around March, the male hummingbirds stake out a territory over a nectar producing bush, and turn into flying acrobats. Watch them swing like pendulums, or twist in arcs, most anything to impress the female. Once the mating hummingbirds have found one another, and are ready for their mating ritual, as they join together, spinning in tight little circles just above the ground.
The female will build a nest witch measures less than an inch across, using light-weight materials like plant down, and spider webs, and decorate it with lichens on the outside, then fasten it to a small tree branch using its saliva. Anna’s Hummingbird is the only one that does not migrate, unlike other hummingbirds in the United States.
To attract Anna’s Hummingbirds and other hummers to your lovely bird feeding garden, plant terraced native plantings for hummingbirds, as well as trees, shrubs, vines, and plants that produces tube-shaped flowers in red, orange, and yellow.Put out the most colorful nectar feeders you can find on the market, red ones has been shown to attract the best. Once you have established hummingbirds in your garden, you can change the feeders into more subdued colors.
Fill your nectar feeders with a sugar solution using these measurements:
Use 1 part sugar, to 4 parts water, and you can use regular granulated sugar, witch will melt quickly in boiling water, or super fine sugar witch melts in cold water. Make sure the water is cold before you fill the feeders, and do not put any kind of food coloring into the solution, as this can harm the feeding birds. To learn more about hummingbird gardens and feeders go to our section on HUMMINGBIRD GARDENS.
