male Anna’s Hummingbird painting

We are very fortunate to live in a part of the world where hummingbirds live. Although we do not have nearly as many dramatic species as there are in the tropics, we have one who lives year-round–the Anna’s. This morning as I was wiping the sleepiness from my eyes, stretching my muscles and contemplating the possibility of going to the gym, a little Junco caught my attention. The little guy was doing us a favor and just munching away on the one dandelion in our yard that had gone to seed. It looked so cute plucking the seeds and eating them I thought, “Get the camera.” As I was picking up my camera in the family room a Towhee caught my attention hopping around on the spire of our bird house feeder. Just as I was focusing in on the Towhee I saw a flash of green and was again distracted–this time by a lovely female Anna’s. For the life of me I can’t think of the name of the flower I have outside my window, but the hummers love them. She was going to each individual flower, periodically sitting on a small stem to lick nectar, but mostly hovering. Her tiny green feathers shimmering she eventually flew up to the nearly leafless tree near our house and delicately landed. Tummy full, she began to preen. Continue reading “A is for Anna’s Hummingbird”