Jennifer

I live in an alpine valley at an elevation of 8,000 ft, and I really enjoy taking a break from my work and sitting outside to watch the birds throughout the day. It surprised me to see how comfortable they are with my presence, this is something that was not so common with birds in the city. One of the most incredible little beings I have ever had the pleasure of observing is a male broad-tailed hummingbird that called dominion over a feeder I put out. One of the best sounds is the buzzing of their wings, and I heard a lot of it throughout the day as this one little warrior whipped around the house defending his food source from other hummingbirds. I have often heard of people experiencing large numbers of hummingbirds at their homes, and I was curious how this could be accomplished when there is a very tenacious "bully bird" chasing all the others off. Mind you this was the most adorable bully, and he was very sweet to me. One day I was cleaning up some of the garden beds while my partner was cutting sheet metal in a container, and I caught the hummingbird out of the corner of my eye as he headed over to the container where my partner was. I watched as he hovered in observation, then he abruptly darted in front of the opening and flew inside! My partner stopped sawing, and I could hear the surprise in his voice as he greeted the curious visitor. The bird was inside for a good minute, then it came out to fuel up at the feeder. I became curious about these little jewels, and did some digging to find out more about their habits and potential hazards to be weary of. I wanted this little guy to have the best chance for success, and I also wanted to find a way to welcome more on our property. I experimented with more feeders that were placed a distance apart and some out of sight of one another, and sure enough we started seeing more hummingbirds everyday. There were several females that came around, and our little male put on several displays by flying high up and diving in a "U" shaped fashion through the tree. He was quite the ladies man. It was so incredible to hear all that wing buzzing from the moment the sun begins to rise to the moment it set each day. I set up a GoPro by one of the clusters of feeders and caught some awesome moments and behaviors that helped me understand even more about their social interactions. The rufous hummingbirds showed up later on and were the first to leave. The dominant male broad tailed's have already headed off to their warmer destinations, and the few that remain will be gone any day now. I already miss the sounds, but I have something to really look forward to next spring. Also, the feeder maintenance was no joke. It's a good thing I work from home because that alone was a full time job. I took them down to clean them and refill with fresh nectar every day to every other day, and we had 14 feeders throughout the property. I went a little overboard, but it was so worth it! I caught some beautiful photos, and all I had to do was stand still for a few moments. I wish I had a camera set up on me when I would take the feeders down or put them back up- there were a few males that would literally land on top of my head to see what I was doing. They have no fear, and they figured out pretty quickly that I was the nectar lady and was not a threat. I am so happy to be here and to learn with you all! Your photos are incredible, and I look forward to more!