Monday, January 12, 2015

Costa's Hummingbird

    Last week we had unusually cold weather.   Our hummingbirds, which usually have enough plants to keep them happy, were fighting over the feeder in the back yard.   They can be very territorial, and the one was not happy about sharing his food.   
      The solution was to buy another feeder and put it in the front yard, specifically the casita window.   It wasn't long before it became a popular spot.
   

I think this is a male Costa's Hummingbird.  


     I've been trying to get some good pictures for days.
    
        Arizona is home to a number of types of hummingbirds.   The Costa's live here year round.  This one seems to best match the description of the Costa's in the book "Desert Hummingbird Gardens" by Sylvia Yoder.   But if anyone has other information, please let me know.   The other possibilities were an Anna's or Black-chinned hummingbird.
       I love  watching the hummingbirds here.  They are so friendly!   Whenever we go outside to work or read, they fly very close to us.  It's as if they want to say "hi" and see what we're up to.   The ones we had in Ohio never came this close.  
      We've planted a lot of native plants that attract them.  Yoder's book lists lots of trees, shrubs, cacti and other plants that they like.   But for the best pictures, the feeders seem to work the best for me.