Hummingbird Central

There is something about this piece of land here at Heritage Oak that attracts an impressive variety of wildlife. It has a lot to do with the presence of the Mokelumne River, which boarders the property for a mile on the south and south-eastern sides, and our twenty acres of native oak woodland.  Wildlife is so prolific here that one Mothers’ Day a few years back, I spotted and listed over fifty species of birds alone.

For me, however, the most incredible wildlife population is not along the river or in the oak woodland.  It is the hummingbirds found on the patio at the winery itself.

  This time of year, in mid-July, we have up to four species.  The most common one is the Black-chinned Hummingbird.  He’s a feisty little guy with a green back and black throat.  Because the Black-chinneds nest around here, the majority of the hummers we have right now are their young, like the one shown on the left above.  Anna’s Hummingbirds are also frequent visitors.  They are a little larger and have green on their backs and wings. Though they nest here, they are out numbered by the Black-chinneds by about ten to one. 

The other species we have here in July is the Rufous/Allens’s hummingbird.  These are migrants and are here for just a few weeks.  They stop by for a break enroute from summer breeding grounds in Alaska, Canada and the California coast to their favorite winter vacation spots in Central and South America. They arrive tired, hungry and with absolutely no patience for my lazy, go-nowhere Black-chinneds.

Carmela has done a wonderful job with the garden.  She seeks out plants that attract hummers and butterflies.  However, it is my job to take care of the feeding stations.  The population has grown to the extent that I employ four of the 30 ounce Perky Pet feeders in separate locations about 10 yards apart, and this time of year the birds are emptying three of these feeders a day. ( I estimate our hummingbird population to be around thirty birds on the assumption that each bird consumes about three ounces a day for a total of 90 ounces.) It is part of my morning ritual: make a cup of espresso, read the paper, mix up a batch of nectar for three feeders. I put one cup of sugar to every 30 ounces of hot, hot water, then stir until it is all dissolved.

This is the kind of hobby that takes space and effort. Our eleven feeders occupy an entire shelf in the kitchen.  I need a large supply because some are always dirty, some are in the washer, some are hanging on the patio and I need to have some to replace empties. Everyday I have to tend to my feeders and spend a fair amount of time washing, rinsing, sterilizing, mixing, filling clean ones and replacing  the empty ones.  When shopping, we look for sugar on sale and stock up.

Visitors to the tasting room get a kick out of watching our hummingbirds zip backand forth as they chase each other with threatening screeches and angry chirps.  Occasionally they launch into aerial displays, diving in wide arcs at breakneck speeds while coming perilously close to the ground.  On a pleasant afternoon, people frequently buy a bottle of wine, borrow some glasses and sit on the patio just to enjoy the entertainment.  I find it ironic that people find it peaceful to watch a these tiny, hostile, impatient critters, whose lives are anything but peaceful, zoom about on wings that beat 80 to 120 times per second.

Our hummingbirds are such a fixture around here that we have an event every other Friday evening based around them.  It goes from the end of May until the first of August. Carmela makes dessert, I play the piano, and people come to sip wine, watch the hummingbirds battle it out while the sun goes down.  We call it Wine, Music and Hummingbirds.  Not a poetic name, but it fits.  Wine and dessert are $5 each. Music, sunset and feathered entertainment are free.