This has been a great hummingbird winter here at the ol' homestead here in
Bellevue Eastgate. No less than seven recognizable individuals have
maintained a virtually constant presence here since mid-December and have
kept me busy keeping the three feeders filled and the birds properly fed. I
suppose they are all going to go into insulin shock in about a week from now
when they suddenly find their reliable source all dried up and that their
friendly tender is nowhere in sight. Unless of course I can find a couple
55-gal drum size feeders that might last through the end of May :-)) OTOH,
it won't be long until the plethora of various flowering shrubs about the
yard and down in the greenbelt ravine begin blooming so maybe those and a
little assist from others around the neighborhood can keep them going.

At any rate, this afternoon at 1432hrs (March 7th) for the first time since
the hummers appearance here back in December and their impatient knock on the
window that they were here and intent on being fed, I was out on the back
deck when a lightning fast black streak shot by my head, so fast I barely
detected it at all, accompanied by rather emphatic 'sziiiiiSP' sound with a
quick 'snap' on the end, very much like the sound you make when you pull a
zipper really really fast, so fast even as when you nearly strip or break the
thing. So *this* is what the Anna's Hummingbird courtship display sounds
like. Hmm... It occurs to me that I have never actually seen or heard this
before. Or I've just been unaware of it because it happens so fast; too fast
maybe for my eyes and ears to catch or comprehend. Had it not blasted so
close by my head, I'd probably not have detected it this time either. But
now, I know what to be mindful for and it is pretty impressive.

After observing a few more passes and 'zip snaps', I dashed in and went
straight to the see what Ehrlich, et al. ("The Birder's Handbook") had to say
about Anna's courtship display flights.

"....The most spectacular courtship sound of hummers is the explosive noise
made by a male Anna's Hummingbird at the bottom of it's U-shaped dive as it
passes near a perched female." .... "Male flight describes arc of vertical
circle before female; rising very high, plummets downward making explosive
chirp sound at lowest point, then rises straight above female, hovers and
faces her at top of ascent, delivering brief squeaky song. Male chases
female to nesting area, then with body held horizontally, male flies rapidly
back and forth in short, tight arcs above female...."

Okay, 'explosive chirp sound' but I like my 'zipper' analogy better.
Yep, that pretty much says it. The female was perched in the budding red
azalea and they've all been pretty 'squeaky chirpy' all winter long. Anyway,
pretty neat stuff so keep your eyes and ears open. I suppose one male will
come to dominate the territory soon if not already and drive the other or
others away. All the females (maybe some are immature males) still seem to
be getting along okay and manage to share the three feeders without too much
bickering or possessive behavior.

So, all I can say to my loyal Anna's Hummingbird constituents who've kept me
entertained this winter, I sincerely do apologize for the approaching
inconvenience and disruption in reliable service. I *DO* have to go back to
'work' sometime, but I will be back. Just be patient. Don't go away, and
please don't go away mad. Just carry on and build that nest in the red
azalea as I can see is probably the plan now. Those flowers will be out
before you know it along with all the others round about the yard. BTW, I
can't help but notice, but come evening, I don't know how you kids can even
fly. Well, you don't very well I must point out. You just kind of float off
like a bunch of helium filled balloons into the shrubs since you're all so
bloated out as to possess a striking resemblance to that of feathered ping
pong balls. Unbelievable! But then I guess you've got all night to sit
around, digest, and gradually expel the days intake only to start the cycle
all over again at the very first trace of morning light. I suggest you pace
yourselves because your yummy feeder days really are numbered.

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Richard Rowlett (Pterodroma at aol.com)
47.56N, 122.13W
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
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