Nothing like getting in just under the wire. We’ve come to the end of another month or as we say here at Intrigued, officially HT-2 – only TWO months before the annual Haunted Trail event. We have been working hard on creating props, new power solutions and trail prep since we made it home from our western foray, but now the pressure really starts to build. Sleep is becoming a luxury even before mixing in this month’s stepped up run training cycle. I would liken it to being back in the corporate grind if it wasn’t so damn fun hahaha. Oh, speaking of a physical “grind”, the Intrigued family extend their best wishes for “happy feet”, clear skies, cool temps and emotional fortitude to Jan (and Brad) during their annual charity event. I will let Brad comment more on that at a later time – fingers crossed they are not getting the current downpour going on here.
Now let’s get to today’s featured feathered friend and put a wrap on this month’s colorful theme!
Watching Hummers go passing by
It ain’t the latest thing
I’m just standing in a blind
I’m just trying to make some sense
Out of these Hummers that passing by
The tales they tell of nectar
I’m not waiting on a lady
I’m just waiting on a [male to] flame
Yes, I took some liberties on a classic song, but that was me in March of 2025. Hit the jump to learn more.
Ever catch yourself repeating something subconsciously in a given situation? Whenever I am in the field at a Hummingbird station that Rolling Stone’s song pops into my brain and goes into repeat mode until one of these speedsters takes pity on me and reveals their hidden secret.
As noted in the previous entries in this month’s Hummer series, they can be a bit tricky to identity when the males are not displaying their pretty gorgets (throats) or worse, a mixed gathering of females. Heads up, there are NO female shots of today’s featured Hummer as I do not have strong confidence in properly identifying them and, unfortunately, really short on time to spend digging deep into reference manuals. Remember that “Hummer Hell” folder mentioned a few posts back, a large number of likely female Anna’s Hummingbirds were dumped in there this week. Please forgive me for taking the easy way out this time and just going with male specimens – maybe I’ll circle back and cover all the female species I’ve featured in this series and give you a good comparison to use in the field – but only if you behave ha.
Firstly, I just want to apologize to the male Anna’s Hummingbird population for being given such a feminine name. I can’t imagine the grief they get from the other family members around the feeder gatherings; “Hi there Mr. Anna’s, did you forget your purse?“, “Hey dude, you sound like a lady“, “Hey sugar, take a walk on the wild side“.
Maybe René-Primevère Lesson thought this diminutive bird needed a tough name to survive (link here):
“Son, this world is rough
And if a Hummer’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you’d have to get tough or die
And it’s the name that helped to make you strong.“
Truth be told, Anna’s is actually named after the Duke of Rivoli’s wife – see Rivoli’s Hummingbird which was named after her husband (link here).
I would attribute the aggressiveness of this Hummingbird at the feeders to this ‘tough’ name, but honestly, all Hummingbirds have a rather nasty disposition to other visitors at a feeder. First one to find the feeder usually takes ownership of it and will generally fight like hell to ward others off. Even with all the feeders available at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon, where most of these shots were taken, you will still see their possessive nature play out.
At a point in the pictures where I need to talk about how to identify these Hummingbirds in the field. I like to give you tips when I can to help you out, except there isn’t really anything like a fully “Flame On” Anna’s – at least in the US (link here). When they are not on full display, like the shots to this point, it can be just slightly trickier… very slightly. What you need to look for is any showing of color above the gorget (throat). Easiest is eye level and above as the Anna’s has a full color hood similar to the Rivoli’s and Costa’s (link here) except it will have a reddish or yellowish hue instead of a purple one. The Violet-Crowned also have a purplish crown, but easily differentiated by the all white throat/breast (link here). All the other male Hummers in the US will only show coloring in their throat area. Look closely at the shots above and you will see a darker line coming back from the eye separated by a lighter section before the throat. That hint of color will help you distinguish it from the Black-Chinned (all black link here) and the Ruby-Throated (also dark hooded).
….but if you are willing to “wait on the flame“…there is no doubt.
These shots were taken in a rather bright setting forcing me to address some hot spots. This forced me to take some of the highlights down in the digital darkroom – the Anna’s iridescent head piece is incredibly brilliant in person. A true stunner in my opinion that can hold up well against the Rivoli’s magnificent (see what I did there) display.
Depending on how the lighting hits those head feathers you will get anything ranging from a golden hue to a magenta burst.
I’ll sit back and simply let you enjoy the visuals….
This specimen stopped slurping for a moment to take issue with me “DID YOU JUST CALL ME SUE!?!“
Ummmm, Linda, I think it might be time to go, he just might “come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear“.
Just to wrap up the story of the Anna’s Hummingbird, they can be found in the southwestern region and more sporadic in the upper northwestern states. They will extend their western region (California) into southern tip of Nevada and into the southern half of Arizona/New Mexico along with a just the far western portion of Texas during breeding season. Note, that includes the northern portion of Central American and full time in Baja Cali.
Will officially call it the end of July there and let you get back to your day. May life always present you with a bouquet of Hummingbirds (yes, that’s the term for a flock of Hummers).
Wildlife Intrigued 
Wonderful photos of these lovely birds.
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Thank you Anneli! As hard as they are to get something in the tin, it’s a good day when I can get something that is worth showing everyone. Have yourself a wonderful week up there in the northwest – hoping the Washington smoke isn’t heading your way.
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We have a haze of our own coming from the interior of BC. But yes, I love that feeling when one or two of many photos turn out especially good. That’s one of the things I love about digital photography for myself. I tend to take a lot of blurry photos just to get a couple of good ones, and can delete the rest without having to pay a lot to develop them.
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Exactly, if it was the old days and I had to pay to develop the amount of shots I take these days…assuredly, this blog would NOT exist. Best part is I can immediately change settings based on a preliminary look at the back of the camera rather than waiting weeks to learn you just wasted your money when the pictures come back. As much as I tended to cuss it daily while I was in the daily grind, I still embrace technology if it makes my life easier.
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I feel the same. It does make life easier in many ways. The trick is not to let it take over.
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Yep
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The Anna’s is just so beautiful, and so visible. That stripe of color back from the eye is a great field mark, thanks for that. Don’t you just love how the little gorget feathers along the sides of their throat stick out – just as you said, tiny flames of color!
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You are very welcome Sam, I am always looking for some edge in the field and glad to be able to share that seem to work well. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been at a feeder and someone asks me to ID one of these rockets and have to tell them I have to wait to respond until I get a good enough shot to run against my internal decision tree … and then it can still be just an educated guess until I can get back into the digital darkroom and look at the detail – wing to tail ratios, hood featherings etc. if they don’t give me a full gorget display …… or females ugh. The more we can stick in our back of tricks helps to narrow down that uncertainty. Of course, my philosophy on birding (and life) has always been ..if you make an ID/statement, do it with unblinking confidence until someone comes with a valid challenge….and then stare them down hehehehe. Isn’t birding wonderful!
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Very striking photos of an LHJ, Little Humming (or hovering) Jobber. I’m learning that hummies are similar to sparrows in their number and variety, and sometimes “silly” nomenclature history. Best get cracking on the Haunted Trail.
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Life is like a box of Sparrows – or something like that ha. The more I dig into this whole birding thingy the more irritated I get at the inconsistencies and absolutely craziness in this field – Linda claims I am just getting old which is a valid critique, but I can bring ever-growing example after example of evidence that backs me up. The amount of potential topics I have in the queue that require additional validation/ID work before I am willing to present to the world is staggering. I’m working day and night on the trail and Linda has already started the “is that ANOTHER Amazon package!?!”. Good thing she gets me ha.
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That honeybee looks like it’s about to do a 9/11 on the hummer. Great shot! You are lucky to have left that shoot unharmed. Those hummers are vicious.
Best wishes to Brad and Jan on the charity event.
Speaking of Happy Feet, are your podos pitter-pattering on the well-pounded trails, pain-free, and ready to send you into Hermetic hyperspeed?
Speaking of Hermetic, you might consider making a statue of Hermes Trismegistus for your trail. He’s a figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth, so he would have an ibis head and winged feet (perfect god for a birder). You could have him behind an altar to sacrifice raccoons. He might just bless your running and give you more energy for getting your trail all put together.
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You noticed the Bee!!!! I was wondering if anyone would see that little added element to a few of the shots. They appears to be some agreed upon “relationship” between the Santa Rita Lodge Hummers and the abundance of Bees in the area – translated…when the Hummers come, the Bees scatter until they leave. I did read on Cornell, that some Hummers have been known to die from having a Bee/Wasp etc. impaled on their bills and unable to free it. You are very correct, Hummers are vicious creatures, cute..but definitely angsty!
Well, the feel are a pounding the trails (and pavement with all the recent rains), although I would currently characterize it as Happy. The ankle was doing pretty good until I got up to my standard 10-15 mile days. Getting a significant amount of pain beyond the “expected” level and a bit concerned something may still be healing or possibly not right. The mileage only goes up from there and if it is going to give me that much grief, the October ultra race is going to another one for the pain cave. Went out today for an easy 10 miles and the heat ended beating me into submission and eclipsed all the pain from the foot – got done and looked like I just swam the English Channel. Clearly a long way from where I need to be in 2.5 months for the race. I actually know Thoth better than Trismegistus from my college days when I wanted to be an archeologist and focused on Egypt. Read up on him, it is an interesting comparison of the two gods although I do prefer the Egyptian representation with the Ibis head. The alter scene definitely sounds intriguing. I already have a set of demons who are presenting the body parts of a lady for sacrifice (severed legs/arms, torso) to a druid demon – it would not be too much to adapt the druid demon to have an Ibis head and the traditional Egyptian “skirt”. Not sure I can get that done for this year, but I did just put it my idea book for next year. Good call Tim.
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I love the bees in the photos. Sounds like a soaking wet pain in the foot. I’m always happy to give you ideas.
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Ha, yes it is and the foot is both wet and muddy after having to dig up my yard to solve a clogged gutter drain. We have are new gutters going up now so guessing by the laws of nature we won’t get anymore rain – Mother Nature has an evil prank side of her.
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They seem like when one is holding a crystal, depending on how the light strikes and refracts determines the color or showing of color. Wonder if I can fit a hummingbird feeder into my backyard without the squirrels wanting some.
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Exactly! The transformation between light and no light is absolutely amazing…and, of course, if they are willing to push those gorget feathers out so we can see them. You shouldn’t have too much trouble with the squirrels when it comes to Hummer feeders, but you will get the attention of birds like Orioles that will partake int the sweet nectar. But the worst problem will be keeping the Bees and Ants out of the area. Take care Jerry and appreciate you coming by.
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All wonderful but your last shot in particular is really something!
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Thank you Belinda! I had to a wait a long time at that spot before one of the Anna’s would give me a full on display of their colorful hood and then he looked at me – every once in a while you get lucky and rarer yet have your finger on the shutter ha. Hope all is well up north, haven’t heard much about your fires as of late, maybe those are all contained now – meanwhile our northwest has lit up and may even be sending smoke up your way.
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It continues to be a very severe fire season. These fires don’t respect borders either.
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I haven’t heard lately how things are going on the fire front. Guessing our Oregon/Washington fires are subsiding only based on the lack of news lately.
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Hi Brian,
Every time I get to see the splendid flash of a colorful hummingbird gorget, I feel the release of endorphins. Not unlike a runner’s high (you would know about that!), but without expending as much effort.
The amount of endorphins goes up with the number of crisp photographs, so you must have been floating. 🙂
Best,
Tanja
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Oh, I know all about the runner’s high – unfortunately it seems similar to what I’ve heard of other drugs where it takes more and more quantities (as in miles in my case) to reach that level ha. Fortunately, I can just sit on my butt and wait for Hummer Endorphins to kick in…my body prefers the latter!! Thanks for dropping in Tanja.
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At some point, it will be too difficult for us to push our bodies hard enough to release those endorphins. But it will never be too hard to sit down to watch hummingbirds. 🙂
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Fortunately, my mind still overrides the body’s complaining, when that gives out I’ll still have Hummingbirds!
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👍
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Well, dig you call the Hummer Sue? It certainly looks like it is considering doing you some harm. I give names to my regulars at the sugar bar. But I haven’t named one Sue, not yet. When I was sitting on my porch a hummer came close up about a foot from my eyes and just fluttered there for awhile. Then it hummed around me just checking me out. It was very curious about me! But I was terrified that it was going to peck out my eyeballs! How far away are you shooting snap shots?
I’m one of the goo-goo’s on the hummingbird that I never saw the bee in two photos. I went back and now I see them. How could I miss it?!?
I laugh at Linda’s commentary!
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I have rather large glass, so I do not have to get real close to the Hummingbird itself – the distance seems to make the Hummers less cautious and not as flighty. I can see the danger in having that spike of a bill that close to your face – I would fear it would see its reflection in your eye and attack it ha. The Bees were a subtle touch and overshadowed by the Hummingbird – lots of people missed it in their first looks at the shots – like a hidden Easter egg! Glad you enjoyed Linda’s perspective on the situation – it’s a wonder she has put up with me for 35 years now ha. Thanks for coming by Teri.
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