Hummingbirds in Moraga 2020-22
From March 2020 through May 2022, (and likely going forward), while I have been sequestered at home due to the pandemic, I have been blessed with a garden alive with hummingbirds. I have spent hundreds of hours relaxing in the garden, often in an air-chair on the deck, with my camera and long lens in hand. I have captured literally thousands of photos of these gorgeous and fascinating little birds.
Most garden visitors are Anna’s hummingbirds, which are medium-sized and stocky for a hummingbird. They are 3.9 inches in length and weigh only .1 to .2 ounces. Their wings beat about 40-50 times per second during flight, and they zoom about 25mph in normal flight and up to 40mph in a courtship dive. No wonder it is such a challenge to photograph them! They are mostly green and gray, without any rufous or orange marks on the body. The male’s head and throat are covered in iridescent reddish-pink feathers that can look dull brown or gray unless the light hits them just right. You can easily identify the male in some of these photos, but if light has not hit the red head feathers just right, it can be more difficult.
Occasionally Rufous hummingbirds (or Allen’s, as they are hard to tell apart) have visited. The male Rufous has bright orange on the back and belly and vivid iridescent-red on the throat. Females are green above with rufous-washed flanks, rufous patches in the green tail, and often a spot of orange in the throat.
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