Back Yard

So, January has ended and we step into February. We had some serious cold here in January that killed all the vegetation in our back yard. I was really hoping that wouldn't happen this year but it did. So, we will see what survives. Since the flowers are gone, the hummingbirds are desperate to feed. The Anna's have already started nesting so they are especially fierce right now.

 In January I completed several classes on being a hummingbird rescue volunteer. Yes, there is such a thing in Tucson. I will share more on that later. I managed to keep most of the birds happy during the cold spell. I found one dead this last week and I didn't even have a chance to rescue it! I have a male Anna keeping watch on the big feeder out the back door and he is really vicious. When he chases one away about 5 more in for a quick drink until he comes back and chases them all away. If you have ever watched hummingbirds for very long you realize that they are a very antisocial vicious bird. Small but angry.

At one point I stopped feeding them because it was very stressful watching them. Now that they rely on my feeders it would be a death sentence if I suddenly stopped. Seriously, when we get birds to rely on our feeders and that's their territory we need to keep it up. Otherwise they have to move into another territory and fierce battles ensue, sometimes to the death of one of them. So we must either do it or don't do it. No halfheartedness when it comes to hummingbirds. I will add some other interesting things I've learned about hummingbirds in upcoming posts.

 We had alot of rain last week and I enjoyed taking some photos of our backyard hummingbirds.

 

This is how I feel when it rains!

Beautiful Coopers Hawk watching my feeders while taking a ride on the biplane!