Anna's Hummingbirds

Female Anna's Hummingbird say hello to Pacific Tree Frog   Picture taken by Tom James

The wildlife at Hughes Water Gardens is wonderful and diverse.  In the morning it is not uncommon to see deer, and sometimes there is a bunny or two. There are literally thousands of frogs, many colorful dragonflies and damselflies, and  of course a great variety of birds - among them is the very cool Anna's Hummingbird. 

Anna's Hummingbirds are 
all year residents In the Portland area.  Anna's are easily recognizable - the adult male has an iridescent crimson-red crown and throat (gorget) and a dark slightly forked tale. Females and juveniles have a green crown, a grey throat with some red markings, a grey chest and belly, and a dark, rounded tail with white tips on the outer feather. They are the largest hummingbird in the area - four inches tall and weighing less than a nickel.  They also have the highest heart rate of any bird - a thousand beats per minute.  Incredibly their wings flap on average 53x per second. They not only fly forwards and backward they also can hover in one place.

Anna's not only consume nectar from plants they also eat  insects and spiders.  They do prefer red flowers but they also look for flowers that have a lot of sugar content to support their high metabolisms. 

The males hummingbirds have a dramatic courtship dive.  He flies high (even as high as 100 feet in the air) then plummets.  During this plummet he can reach speeds up to 50 mph. At the bottom of the dive he pulls up right in front of the female and makes a loud distinctive popping noise.  A natural show off - he tries to do this when the sun is behind him to show off his brilliant colors.  This whole display last about 12 seconds.

Anna's build their open cup nests placed on top of a small twig or branch. The tiny nest is made of down, held together with spider web and covered on the outside with lichens or dead leaves. They usually lay two eggs. The male leaves and the female raises the young.

Many of the waterplants that Hughes sells will attract hummingbirds to your garden.   

Thanks to the two website below for helping with this article. 

For more on Anna's Hummingbirds click Wikipedia.

Click Here for The Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All About Birds. 

Blue Spreading Rush, Black Flowering Sedge, Variegated Japanese Sweet Fleet Flag

Plants for Fall Interest  

In the cold months of winter, once irises, cattails, and other perennials have gone dormant and tender tropical and semitropical plants have been moved indoors, the pond can begin to look bare and lifeless.  By choosing evergreen plants such as rushes, sedges, and sweet flag.  you can enjoy a fully planted pond year-round.
    

Rushes

Available in a range of colors and forms, rushes can be planted along the margins of a pond to soften the transition from water to land.  Blue Spreading Rush (Juncus patens), with its blue-green coloring and tall, needle-like foliage, is one of the most popular varieties.  It can be grown in up to 6 inches of water and can reach a height of 20 inches.  Soft Rush (Juncus effusus) is a deeper green, taller member of the same genus.  With thicker foliage and a height close to 30 inches, it makes a striking accent at the pond margin.  'Unicorn Rush' (Juncus effusus 'Unicorn') stands out in any setting with its thick, shiny green leaves that grow in a corkscrew form.  This variety will grow up to 15 inches tall and can be grown in water up to 3 inches over the crown of the plant. A blue version of the corkscrew rush is also available.  Known as Blue Medusa Rush (Juncus inflexus 'Afro'), it grows to the same height as 'Unicorn' but the curly foliage is less tightly curled.

Sedges

Other plants that can be used to camouflage the pond margins and add winter interest are evergreen sedges.  Black Flowering Sedge (Carex nigra) is a low growing variety with steel blue tufts of grass-like foliage.  It can be grown in water up to 4 inches over the crown of the plant and will only grow 6-9 inches tall.  The black "flowers", which are actually seed heads, sport soft white downy hairs, giving a rich furry appearance in late spring.  Slough Sedge (Carex obnupta) is a taller variety with arching grass-like leaves and dark brown drooping seed heads.  Native to the Pacific Northwest, this species can grow over 3 feet tall and can tolerate up to 8 inches of water over the crown of the plant.

Sweet Flag 

For a splash of bright color in the winter, Sweet Flag or Japanese Rush varieties (Acorus), make ideal additions to the pond edge.  Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' is a grass-like plant with glowing green and yellow striped leaves.  This variety grows to about 12 inches tall and can be placed in water up to 1 inch over the pot.  Another cultivar, Acorus gramineus 'Variegatus' exhibits the same compact growth habit and grass-like foliage, but has green and cream striping on the leaves.  For a more subdued effect, the plain species Acorus gramineus can be planted for its glossy green leaves.  It grows slightly taller than the variegated forms and can also be placed in water up to 1 inch deep.  Acorus gramineus 'Pusillus' is a dwarf form of the same plant that grows no more than 5 inches tall.  This variety makes a wonderful ground cover and can be used at the base of taller evergreens such as the rushes and sedges to accent their height.  Due to its petite size it should be placed in very shallow water with less than one inch over the crown.

Click here for more on the waterplants Hughes has for sale. 

For a gallery of waterplants click here