Introducing "Red" and family

Red on his favorite branch

Red is our senior resident hummingbird.  We think he was the son of one of the first hummingbirds we noticed with regularity.  He has been coming back to our yard every year for at least 4.  This past winter, I don't think he left at all.  


He loves to sit in his tree and oversee the other birds that frequent the yard.  There is also "Butch" who we think is Red's son, "Dove," one of the small brown females.  "Ruby," who may or may not be Butch's mom.  And perhaps another newcomer we're calling "Big Bird" for now.

The females especially seem to love the salvia flowers.  That is what is in the back row.  There are 4 varieties and they like the lavender flowers too.




In the morning and evening during the hot summer months, the females take turns hitting the feeder and the plants.  Red seems intent on running them off the food, so they have to tag team to eat.  I think he wants them on the nest taking care of business.  And you can see why. 

We looked up and found this nest a few years ago.
This video is from June 2010.  I got a step ladder and my

Flip cam to get this shot.  Not extremely high quality.   


There's no way to know for sure, but I think Butch and Dove are the two in the nest.  It's either Dove or Ruby...anyway.  This is from 2009...this female I believe is the mother on the nest above.

Red and Butch sometimes chase each other around and play hovering games. They own this yard and don't want us to forget it.

 

 

So, the hummingbird drama goes on.  Red is getting older.  I don't know if he's teaching Butch the ropes or not but they sure have fun out there.  We'll enjoy them as long as we can.  It's getting cold here at night.