Why are Anna’s hummingbirds moving north to Canada?

Why are Anna’s hummingbirds are expanding their range traditional territory in and around California northward to Canada and even Alaska? Well, the photo above reveals at least part of the answer: because gardeners like me enjoy having flowers blooming year-round. With our relatively mild winters here in coastal British Columbia, that is actually possible! ThatContinue reading “Why are Anna’s hummingbirds moving north to Canada?”

Baby it’s cold outside… first snow!

This is perhaps the most intriguing thing to me: how these tiny Anna’s hummingbirds, adapted for the tropics, and with essentially no body mass, survive our cold Canadian winters! We don’t get snow every winter here (in Port Alberni, central Vancouver Island). We have, though, seen a few days of snow pretty regularly these pastContinue reading “Baby it’s cold outside… first snow!”

Hummingbird range expansion: Successful nesting

Part of the reason that Anna’s hummingbirds have been so successful at expanding their range (from northern Mexico and Southern California, now all the way up to British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska) is because they are very good at raising babies. These hummingbirds have been known to start up to five nests per year. IContinue reading “Hummingbird range expansion: Successful nesting”