Male Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin

Male Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, showing off his amazing, irridescent gorget!  These are my all time favorites!

Allen's Hummingbird

This little Allen's hummingbird (female), with a bit of pollen on her nose, was taking a break on the apricot tree in my back yard.  Allen's hummingbirds used to be restricted in range between Santa Barbara northwards through Southern Oregon.  However, some of these lovely and very feisty hummingbirds have since colonized Los Angeles County,  Orange County, and San Diego County, likely due to the presence of hummingbird feeders and human floral plantings, providing ample food for both the Allen's and Anna's hummingbirds in the area.  I used to only see the Allen's Hummingbirds as they migrated through the area during the Spring and Fall; however, several of these lovely birds have settled into the neighborhood and provide many moments of joyful viewing.

A Quick Visit With the Hummers

The hummingbirds are back in full force, particularly in the evenings when there can be whole clouds of them surrounding the feeders.  The dry weather has probably made it tough to find regular food sources.  I'll need to head out to the nursery and see if I can find more drought-tolerant nectar bearing flowers for them.  Of course, I haven't had any grass for years, having eliminated the grass in favor of succulents and shrubs.  Much lower maintenance and much prettier, IMHO.  But then that's just me.

Male Anna's Hummingbird

Male Anna's Hummingbird

Male Allen's Hummingbird

The Allen's Hummingbirds are Back

I decided to spend a little "me time" on the back porch with the hummers this morning.  I was pleased to see that the Allen's Hummingbirds are back in full force!  While I love the Anna's, it's quite a treat to see the Allen's at the feeder.  They moved in about three years ago and have apparently decided to stay!

 The Allen's Hummingbirds were typically found out in the chapparal.  However, during the dry summers of the last three years, they have increasingly relied on residential feeders and floral plantings for food.  They are a little smaller than the Anna's but make up for size by being really feisty!

 Female Anna's Hummingbird taking flight.

 Female Allen's Hummingbird.

 Female Allen's Hummingbird.

 Female Anna's Hummingbird with a beak full of pollen.  Hummingbirds are significant pollinators.  In fact, some plants, such as the Heliconia, have long, tubular flowers specialized for being pollinated only by Hummingbirds!  Notably, my Heliconia, here in San Diego where we have lots of Hummingbirds, are almost 100% pollinated while, in Hawaii, where there are no Hummingbirds, are almost never pollinated.  As you would suspect, there are lots of Hummingbirds in South and Central America, where Heliconia are native.  In fact, Columbia is the most likely origin of hummingbirds from where they continued to speciate and spread throughout both North and South America.

Male Anna's Hummingbird, showing the bright red gorget for which they are famous!  When chasing other hummingbirds, they flare the gorget like a lion's mane, making look particularly large and fierce.  Only the males have the large, brilliant gorget.  Both females and juveniles lack the large gorget, possibly making them less threatening to the males, allowing them to co-exist in the same territory.

On a side note, you might ask whether these are really Allen's Hummingbirds or whether they might be Rufous Hummingbirds or both.  The difference between the two rests on some small differences in the tail feathers which are not apparent when the tails are not spread.  Thus, it's pretty hard to tell, to say the least.  However, given that these pictures are all taken in San Diego during February, it's far more likely to fit into an expanding Allen's Hummingbird range that into the Rufous Winter range.  Of course, I'm keeping an eye out for pictures with the tail open but, if you've ever tried to take pictures of hummingbirds in flight, you'll know that it's a lot harder than when they're perched so...we'll go with the assumption that these little guys are Allen's, based on range, for now at least.

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, waiting for a spot at the feeder

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, waiting for a spot at the feeder.  This is the longest the Allen's Hummingbirds have ever stayed, going well into the Winter.  Normally, they've headed down to Mexico and warmer climates by now.  It could be those two huge feeders I have out back...

Hummingbirds at the Feeder

Here's a short video of the hummingbird feeder in back of the house.  Those are Allen's (reddish-brown and green) and Anna's (red throat, green body) hummingbirds.  You can hear them tweeting at each other as they jockey for a perch.  Meanwhile, I'm off to re-fill the feeder.  They've been emptying it out daily!

Normally, I just have Anna's hummingbirds, typically with one really aggressive one guarding the feeder and chasing the rest away.  This is the first year that I have seen the Allen's Hummingbirds in such numbers and would really enjoy it if they would stay in the area.  They are native to the coastal chaparral and I suspect that the huge fires in Southern California (a bit East and North of us) and the longstanding drought may be one reason for them being at my feeder in such numbers.  I may have to run to the nursery to find some flowers for them so that they get a little natural food as well.

Allen's Hummingbird in Flight

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, in flight, chasing the other birds away from the feeder.

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, female, in flight

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, female, in flight.  Another shot of the female Allen's Hummingbird, this one taken in flight.

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin (female)

Allen's Hummingbird (female), Selasphorus sasin.  These breed throughout coastal California in a general scrub habitat and Winter in Western Mexico.  They are small but energetic, feisty hummingbirds.  The female lacks the bright scarlet gorget, has a white-spotted chin and chest with a bright red spot in the center of the chin.  There are a lot of hummingbirds at the feeder this year, often six or more sitting at the feeder at any given time.  It could be due to the severe drought and the lack of wildflowers in the coastal scrub habitat.  While I feel bad for the little guys, I certainly enjoy their company.  Perhaps we'll go out to the nursery and buy some hummingbird-friendly, flowering shrubs.

Allen's Hummingbird (male), Selasphorus sasin

Allen's Hummingbird (male) in the backyard. They're a little shy compared to the Anna's. I've been trying to get a decent picture for a while but they typically move before I can auto-focus the lens.. They pass through San Diego on their migration down to and back up from Mexico.  This Summer, I have a little family of them in the back yard.  There is also a year round colony of them in the Channel Islands, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.  It could be, with all the feeders in San Diego, that some of them decided to stay here as well.

Allen's Hummingbird on Aloe

Allens Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, feasting on Aloe nectar at the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, visiting the feeder in my back yard.  The vast majority of the hummingbirds in my neighborhood are Anna's Hummingbirds.  However, this year a pair of Allen's moved in and occasionally show up at the feeder.  By putting out two feeders, it appears that the hummingbirds are actually sharing the feeders (for the first time ever), particularly first thing in the morning and in the evening just before the sun sets.  Allen's Hummingbirds are normally found North of Santa Barbara.  However, there is a colony in the Channel Islands and another in Los Angeles.  The Allen's hummingbirds in the back yard could be part of the migratory population on it's way to/from central Mexico or it could be an offshoot from the Los Angeles population.  Either way, they are a welcome sight at the feeder.

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, drinking nectar out of a gorgeous red blossom from a Sausage tree, Kigelia africana.

Allen's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, San Marino, California, hopping off of a perch on a large Aloe species. This cute little hummingbird is quite a singer. However, it is known for its deep-swooping courtship ritual that the males do in mid-air, creating a "verrrrip" sound as the air moves through their feathers at high speeds. It can be identified, relative to the similar tawny orange colored rufous hummingbird, by the irridescent green patch of feathers on its upper back.