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What do they feed their babies/young?
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In Ontario we have the Ruby throated hummingbird. I have been lucky to see many hummingbird species both in southern Arizona and Costa Rica. This course is inspiring me to go and see more hummingbirds.
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So beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I'd love the chance to see those!
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I used to see hummingbirds all the time growing up in Arizona. My grandma hung feeders and also grew some trumpet flowers that they really loved. I unfortunately have no idea which species they may have been. We get about six species here in Nebraska, though they zoom by so quickly, I can barely spot them, much less get my camera ready. Hoping once spring hits I can camp them out a bit and get some photos!
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We (my husband and I) have been lucky enough to see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds both in our backyard (we have 2 feeders during the spring/summer/fall, and in the woods in CT. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female) pictured here was seen in a CT State Park (Aug 10, 2024), where she stayed resting for a very long time and allowed many pictures. I think we left before she did.
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When we moved to our new house, that first summer was the first time I saw a hummingbird “in the wild” (as in not on a documentary!). It was feeding from these red flowers called African Flag (chasmanthe floribunda) in the front yard. So, I decided to out up some hummingbird feeders the next year, but they didn’t stop at the feeders much, no matter how often I cleaned them and topped them up. My husband found out about this organization, Gardening for Wildlife, and they recommended local plants that hummingbirds love, especially our local Ruby-throated ones! We have cardinal flowers, rose of Sharon, wild bergamot, columbine, and they even come to the lilac trees in the spring! So now we make sure to plant and propagate those and keep a fountain running in the summer to help our hummer friends!
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Thank you for the ideas of some more plants to add to my yard. :) We get ruby-throated hummingbirds, and they love the wild bergamot in the garden here too. I have also seen them getting nectar from zinnias, butterfly bush, and bleeding hearts.
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Yes! We get mainly Black-chinned Hummingbirds where we live in the Western US, but we get some Rufous and Calliope during the summer. I also love seeing the Anna's during the winter too! I had the chance to go to Costa Rica, where I saw a lot of hummingbirds and a larger representation from the different groups discussed in the lesson. My favorite was the Green-breasted Mango - she looked huge at first compared to the hummers I'm used to seeing! I didn't get a picture of her, but below the Anna's are a couple others, I believe the Stripe-tailed Hummer and Lesser Violetear (who were very loud!).
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Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing and the inspiration!
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I have feeders on my balcony. Only one type of hummingbird visits but some seem smaller so youngsters I think.
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Wow! On your balcony! Wow, wow, wow! Thanks for the inspiration.
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Yes we have a hummingbird feeder at home where we see Anna’s hummingbirds. I often see them in the neighborhoods of Seattle. My strongest memory of a hummingbird is the one I saw hovering outside the 14th floor window of a high-rise office building! There were no plants or balcony, so I am not sure why it was outside the window.
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I have seen three species of hummingbirds in my life. The Rufous and Ruby-throated hummingbirds were features or talked about but you have not talked about the Black-chinned hummingbird yet. I live in NJ so the Ruby-throat I see quite often in the summer at my feeders. However, the Rufous is considered a rare bird for the State and I have seen it on twice in different years. I also bird in LA often and this year I took a detour to Texas to see the Golden Cheek warbler and as a bonus I saw the Black Chinned hummingbird. My wife and I really enjoy hummingbirds, and we are headed out to Arizona May 2025 where I hope to pick up 9 new species if all goes well. This is one of the main reasons I am taking this class. I will be brushing up on my Western Warblers with your other course. Just love learning about birds. Thanks and keep the courses coming.
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There are at least 3 Ruby throated hummingbirds that visit my backyard everyday. This female is feeding off my Red Cardinal Flower plant. There is also a hummingbird feeder they like to feed from. When I take it down to change the water, there is always one hovering around the feeder station looking for it. I think they are all females. One of them chased a Black Capped Chickadee away for a couple days in a row, very aggressively . The hummingbird chased it from the feeder and through the trees. Also, I watched them twirling around each other and flying here and there for quite sometime. It was pretty amazing. They also hovered above my head for a while. They do chase each other away from the feeder and plant. That’s about it. I live in Massachusetts.
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We have a summer home in Winter Park, CO (elevation 9,000 ft) so we get to see lots of summer nesters and migrating hummingbirds. We have four species that visit our feeders in Winter Park: Rufous, Calliope, Black-chinned and Broad-tailed. Here are two pictures of an adult male Rufous hummingbird and a picture of an adult male Calliope. (In order from top to bottom: Rufous, Calliope, Rufous).
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In 2009 my wife and I were lucky enough to have a holiday in Ecuador. We managed to get a picture of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird on the nest. Of course there were many other pictures.
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Yes! We have placed feeders all around, and are treated to many Ruby-throated (learned from this course) males & females all day here in North Carolina. I am sad when they migrate South for the winter. When I lived in Hawaii, I put out my feeders and waited and waited for them to come. I finally looked it up, and found that they don't live in Hawaii!
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I was on vacation throughout the Carribean a few years ago and wish I would have had this class because we so many hummingbirds feeding on the tropical slowest.
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I have hummingbirds in New Mexico that I think are called Black Chins” They are very happy until the Rufus birds show up and try to scare them away. I think a saw two fledglings at my feeder together with a larger hummer. They were much smaller than the adults unless they were a different type.
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In Asheville, NC, I have only seen ruby-throated hummingbirds at my 2 nectar feeders. I have seen one become pretty aggressive against others wanting so have a spot at one of the feeders. It will actually stop feeding & dart at them chasing them away. I've seen as many as 7 feeding at one time, but now, Aug 4th see only 1 or 2. I'm concerned for them and wonder what's going on that I don't see more at the feeders all the time, esp because many of the flowers in my yard have wilted. It gets mid 60s at night, up to mid 80s during the day. We get really really heavy downpours that can last an hour or maybe a bit more than that, wondering if that knocks their nests down, or forces them to the ground and maybe eaten by predator like a cat (less likely in these heavy rains) or a box turtle I see living in the yard.....
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I live in NE Ohio so the Ruby Throat is common at my feeders from mid April to the end of September.
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Nice picture!
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Yes. Florida has ruby throat hummingbirds that regularly come to my feeders and nectar plants. We also discovered hummingbird moths that were coming to our bushes, though haven't seen them in a while. My husband has literally had a hummingbird within inches of his face a few times over the years.
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In Baton Rouge, LA, ruby throats are visiting feeders frequently now (early August). On several occasions, I have had ruby throats leave the feeder and hover 6-12" in front of my face for 5-10 secs. Anyone know the reason for this behavior? In winter, we also see rufous and an occasional wintering ruby throat and less frequently a calliope or black chinned. Just 30 miles south, however, they see a greater diversity of hummers in winter.
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Yes I’ve seen many hummingbirds, mostly Anna’s and Rufous, they feed on our window in summer and in winter from a hanging feeder with a light attached to prevent freezing, we can only put that up when the bears are hibernating. I live in North Vancouver BC Canada
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I have only found one nest ever…but oh boy this find made my day…perhaps my year
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You must have a strong set of binoculars. I have a pair of Nikons 8 x 42. I try to watch them as they fly away from the feeder, but they're too fast for me to track.
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Wonderful pictures! Thank you for sharing them.
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Yes. I photograph hummingbirds and want to learn as much about them as I can. I captrure Anna's in my back yard and was curious as to why I don't see any other species where I live in Roseville (Northern California). Venturing to the UC Davis Arboretum, Davis, CA., I also found Anna's the predomnent species, but learned that Black-chinned migrate through the area in the Fall and late early Spring. but in early July I found a black-chinned in a garden north of Marysville, much to my delight. I also caprured Rufous-taile and Scaley-breasted in Panama two years ago, and am on a bird photography (and other wildlife) tour of Costa Rica in late November 2024.
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Your pictures are gorgeous. I, too, live in Roseville and love to watch the Anna’s at our feeder. They are fierce defenders, very verbal with their clicking, and dive bomb my husband when he is barbecuing. It’s a treat to see several at once. I especially delight to see a female hold her ground at the feeder while a male desperately tries to chase her away! We must get to the Arboretum in Davis as I’ve always wanted to see it!
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@Tara Thank you for your kind words Tara. I wonder if we are neighbors? Since I posted my narrative I added Rufous hummers to my back yard visitor list. Your yard sounds like it is very active. Dependig on the time of year I get a pair of Anna's with occasional interlopers. During the migrations I see the Black-chinned and Rufous. The garden at UC Davis that I go to was tricky to find so I can give you directions when the time comes. Tomorrow (11/22) I am leaving for the airport to catch my flight to Costa Rica. I hope to brig back a few thousand pics of hummers andmany other species of birds.
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@Jim Enjoy your trip :)
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@Veronica Hi Veronica! I did enjoy my trip. Took around 10,000 photos, but I was beat by another guy who took 60,000. A few of my images from Costa Rica: 1. A Long-billed Hermit - male. We spent an afternoon photographing with a multi-flash setup and a grey or black background 2. A Lesser Violetear Hummingbird - male 3. A Fiery-throated Hummingbird - male These are a small sampling. I was fortunate to capture 10 species of hummers and 52 species of mostly birds, but mammals, amphibians and reptiles as well. The female of one species was more colorful than the male.
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@Jim Hope you have an amazing time photographing lots of species in Costa Rica and post some of them on this discussion board. I live in Morgan Creek and just Anna’s come to my feeder. They are aggressive enough, can’t imagine Rufous being even more so! But, would love to see them and black chinned as are both beautiful. Would be interested in those directions at UC Davis.
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@Tara Hi Tara. I finally have the time to say hello again and talk about UC Davis. The easiest way to find the hummingbird garden is to go to Google maps or other mapping software and ceate a route to the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive. If you are coming from the east take La Rue Rd. to Garrod drive and after a few blocks turn left on Garrod Dr. The first driveway into a parking lot (on the left) is where you turn. It is a small parking lot with three handicap parking stalls on the immediate right side of the lot, and 20 slots on the left. GO ON WEEKENDS - no parking fees and the lot is usually empty (except when plant sales are going on a few tims a year). Park on the left side towards the end. The polinating trees and shrubs will be about 100 feet diirectly to your front. Some of the trees, etc.that you pass on the way are also attractive to hummers. The garden has concrete walks around the foliage with some benches scattered about. I don't know how the birding is there now, but Anna's should be the only species there until the early Spring migration.
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@Jim Hi Jim, Your trip sounded fabulous and 10,000 pictures is incredible! The three you posted are amazing. Thanks also for the great directions to the Arboretum. I will get there in the spring to catch the migration. Can’t wait! Tara
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@Tara Hi Tara. I would be glad to take you there when the time comes. Until then here are three more photos from the trip. They are a Volcano hummingbird, a Band-tailed Barbthroat hummingbird, and a Stripe-tailed hummingbird.
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I currently have rufous hummingbirds coming to my feeder and flower garden! (In SE Alaska) We even seem to have a baby hummingbird. (We also sometimes see Anna’s!) Wish I had a decent camera to share photos—they are a delight!
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You are fortunate to have a baby in a nest. The Anna's don't nest in our yard. I photographed some Rofous as well since my post above. The migrate all the way into Mexico from Alaska. Then back again in the spring.
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I see black chinned, rufous, Anna's and Calliope hummingbirds in the Okanagan, BC - frequently, I have feeders out for them and the first hummingbirds arrive almost the same day every year from their migration - April 7th
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The Anna's are year-around residents in NorthernC aliforna. The rest are migratory.
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Ruby throated on US east coast - both males and females frequent my feeder. I have also seen Anna's in Arizona.
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I traveled to Tucson last April to visit Paton Center for Hummingbirds and photographed a few species for the first time. The Broad-billed hummingbird was one of my new favorites!
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Beautiful image Anne! Now I have a reason to go to Tucson.
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We (my husband and I) have been lucky enough to see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds both in our backyard (we have 2 feeders during the spring/summer/fall, and in the woods in CT. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female) pictured here was seen in a CT State Park (Aug 10, 2024), where she stayed resting for a very long time and allowed many pictures. I think we left before she did. 
When we moved to our new house, that first summer was the first time I saw a hummingbird “in the wild” (as in not on a documentary!). It was feeding from these red flowers called African Flag (chasmanthe floribunda) in the front yard. So, I decided to out up some hummingbird feeders the next year, but they didn’t stop at the feeders much, no matter how often I cleaned them and topped them up. My husband found out about this organization, Gardening for Wildlife, and they recommended local plants that hummingbirds love, especially our local Ruby-throated ones! We have cardinal flowers, rose of Sharon, wild bergamot, columbine, and they even come to the lilac trees in the spring! So now we make sure to plant and propagate those and keep a fountain running in the summer to help our hummer friends! 
I have feeders on my balcony. Only one type of hummingbird visits but some seem smaller so youngsters I think. 
Of course there were many other pictures. 
I have only found one nest ever…but oh boy this find made my day…perhaps my year 
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