There are 325-350 species of hummingbirds in the world located only in the Americas. There are 16 species in the US and Canada, and 8 in California. More than 160 North American plants depend exclusively on hummingbirds for pollination. The Anna’s hummingbird lives in our area year-round. We need to provide nectar and shelter throughout the seasons. Other hummingbirds pass through on their migration and some may travel 600 miles at 25 MPH, journeying 3000 miles a year.

Hummingbirds don’t have a good sense of smell, so hummingbird flowers are often unscented. But they see color just as well as humans. In fact, they can also see ultraviolet light, which means their world appears even more colorful than ours. They look for brightly colored tubular shaped flowers for nectar. Hummingbirds also eat small insects and other arthropods caught in flight or from vegetation. Nesting material are bound together with spider’s webs, downy feathers, plant fibers and hairs and covered with lichen. (1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter) The incubation period typically ranges from 14 to 19 days in length, and they may leave the nest in three weeks. Wings flaps 12 to 90 times per second depending on species.