A Black-chinned Story
Mark's Hummingbirds
A Lot of Hummers in DecemberAs the months moved from August to December I would strain to see any hummer closely for hope that it was one of my little girls. Then in December a lot of hummers started showing up, too many at times for a single bird to dominate and many were using the feeders at the same time. I thought that with all these birds maybe my girls might stop by again. Would they remember me if they did? Would I be able to recognize them? I had read that immature male hummers have traits common to both sexes coloring-wise, and that immature females looked exactly like adult females. As a result of that I had initially concluded that my little girls were actually male. I had thought this because at about 5 weeks old a tiny dark spot appeared under each of their chins on the gorget. Since they were black-chinned I figured that this was just the first of many more that would result in the male black-chinned's gorget. I am now certain that that wasn't true and I'll tell you why. As long as they were around those little specks never got any larger. Then as I was longing to see my girls every little hummer with a spot I would hope were mine. I saw a few that could have been them if their spot had grown a bunch in their absence. I now know that these are either:
Anna's females (larger)
or Costa's females (smaller).
I even tried to convince myself that they were my kids but there was one problem. None of these birds acted as if I were the least bit familiar to them. I tried to write it off to them growing up and forgetting about me. I even told Sharon that I think that this one or that one may be them, etc., etc.
Then one day in December as I was sitting on the back porch, a very small black-chinned female landed on a laundry cord above and in front of me. I had put this cord up as a perch for hummers near two feeders. It actually serves as the perch for the smallest feeder. Well this little girl sat facing me and looking at me for about 30 seconds. Then she went to the smallest feeder and had a sip of nectar. I attributed the long look as just making sure it was safe to go to the feeder. They frequently do that--land nearby to make sure it's safe before approaching a feeder. Oddly though, this little girl, after her drink, flew back to the same spot and continued to stare at me for about another 30 seconds before flitting off. I thought of how small she was. Just a little larger than my little girls were. I thought of how she was the only black-chinned I'd seen for sure here in December. Then I dismissed the incident......after all, I was sure my kids were male. Again that day I spied the little girl just over my fence in the neighbors yard..........she just seemed to be staring at me. Anyway my back yard is bad for many hummers, especially those that must sneak in for food. It is a yard with a 6 foot fence and several trees. The bottom line is a single dominant bird can easily see and control all feeders and avenues of approach. Currently the keeper of the food trough in back is a large Anna's male. My front yard has no fences and no tall tree so is easier for many birds to get in and out fast and unobserved. This little girl had piqued my interest a little so I decided to go sit out front and see if she and others were around...since so many were now getting to the back yard, I was sure that at least as many would be in front. I still held a little hope that one of my kids may stop by again. Additionally, I may also get to meet this sweet little girl that had been eyeing me.
I sat in the front yard and watched as many hummers came and went. There were as many as in the back. Winter is a good time to see hummers in the Phoenix area. I tried my whistle just in case. As I sat there I glanced up and there was this little girl sitting in a yucca only about 5 feet from me.She sat for a long time with an occasional trip to a feeder. I finally thought out loud as I asked the questions. This can't be you can it? My kids are little boys aren't they? So for the hell of it I walked in and got my hand-feeder that I had retired when the kids had left. They were the only ones that had come to it so it seemed little use to carry it around with me. I walked out and began to raise the feeder to the little girl. Like a shot, she was sitting happily on the hand-feeder and looking at me. She came to me about 6 times that day but still I was not convinced 100%. I suppose they could have been little girls. I know this one would be the older of the two, she was always more aggressive.........but where is the timid shy one?? Well the next day I whistled and Sugarbaby came again. As I just finished feeding her I looked over at our hibiscus and there sat another little black-chinned girl. They both always had the ability to sneak up on me. This little black-chinned girl wouldn't come to me but wanted to sit somewhat close. I was always her protector and she knew I was at least attempting to help and protect her. So it seemed to fit that she would try and be close. Still I was not convinced, I had been wrong before.
The next morning I walked out shortly after dawn. As I passed the window feeder I noticed an Anna's female about to touch down on that feeder. Letting my eyes drop lower I spied the shy one, Lilbaby, sitting on a cactus thorn below the window. She was sitting there trying not to be noticed and waiting for an opportunity to get to the feeder. 
As she looked almost pleadingly at me I decided to try something. I walked toward her and the feeder, raised and outstretched my hand, as if to push away, which caused the Anna's to start hovering. She had already had a good enough drink anyway. I pushed my arm by the feeder about 12' away from it....this position was actually leaning a little over the little girl. The Anna's hovered still interested in the feeder but at a safe distance from me. 
Then before I could withdraw my hand, the little girl darted up, between my arm and the feeder, onto the feeder without hesitation. The Anna's eventually left impatiently. I stayed with my hand only a few inches from the little girl until she finished and flew away. It was over a minute, she would drink and look at me then repeat the process.That day and the next, if there was a lot of traffic at the feeder I would just stroll up to it and whistle. The other hummers would give me room and then Lilbaby would appear from nowhere and land. I would even point my finger or raise my hand if Trey, the front yard 'Keeper of the Trough", would approach. You could tell that she just knew my actions were to help her and not hurt. It was then that I knew my kids had come home.
Soon both little girls were using my hand-feeder many times each day......literally hundreds of times since December. Other hummers have followed their lead and will come to me now also. They usually make me the second choice after the other feeders. The kids on the other hand usually make me the first choice before trying the other two feeders in the front yard. I don't often use the hand-feeder anymore. I just hold the bottle in my hand with my finger outstretched and both little girls sit on my finger many times each day while sipping nectar. Again many others have followed their example and perch on my finger for nectar. All of these hummers are very observant and have seen my two little ones coming and going freely getting nectar while sitting on my finger and must figure, "Hey, if it works for them, why not me?"
But like I said, I'm usually their second choice, except for a little girl named Fanny.
Fanny the Little Costa's Girl
In probably early January of 2001, I began to notice a little Costa's female visiting a feeder. I frequently confused her with either of my two girls until she was close enough to see her speckled throat. Sounds, size, and coloring were very similar except for the gorget speckles or spots. I named her Fanny because she constantly fans her tail while hovering (my kids do too but to a lesser extent). She would visit my hand-feeder also and that may have given her the idea to dominate the cactus feeder and even the window feeder. I tried to explain my open-access policy to her but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. She could be quite a pill even chasing the larger Anna's males off at times. When the two little girls had trouble getting to me and she began to guard me like a feeder I decided to discourage her by walking toward her, raising my arms, and/or making noise. She would not be discouraged. She simply moved from bush to bush just out of reach even circling some too wide for me to reach around. Several comments were forthcoming from my wife who watched her keep me easily at bay. "You know you are picking on a teeny hummingbird don't you??" and "She's just toying with you". Still I was not discouraged and continued to walk around the yard with arms raised grunting like Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein....."UUHHH!......UUUHHH!" We felt sure the neighbors, unable to see the hummers from a distance, were poised with their fingers near the telephone keypad. "Honey, dial 9 and then 1......then when I tell you, dial 1 again" Eventually the Anna's male, Trey (named Trey because the right side of his gorget forks into 3 distinct red tines), reclaimed the window feeder leaving Fanny only the cactus feeder.
To discourage Fanny from being such a bully, I took down the cactus feeder but this didn't stop her from guarding the empty spot as well as guarding me. I chased her for a few minutes but when she looked hungry we took a break and I offered her a nip of my little bottle after I sat down. She came and sat on my finger and drank her fill. But when she jumped on little Sugarbaby as she approached the chase was on again with the same results. Once again culminating in a break and her sitting on my finger. After one more repeat of the whole affair, I gave up. All I accomplished was to get a little exercise, make the neighbors wonder even more, and confirm to at least Fanny, that humans are slow and apparently somewhat stupid. That night and the next morning I would move farther to the edge of the yard to try and allow Sugarbaby and Lilbaby to reach me for some nectar. This was more successful but Fanny hawked me because she seemed to know others would show up for my feeder. That afternoon I looked out and didn't see Fanny on the yucca guarding the cactus feeder. Instead, another Anna's male was there. I went and sat for awhile and to my amazement, Trey still owned the window feeder and Jarhead (another Anna's male named for his 'high & tight' haircut appearance), owned the cactus feeder. This was surprising to me since these feeders are only ten feet apart. I would have never expected two hummers to split territory so close together. I stayed out front for awhile longer that day because now I was feeding three little girls.....Sugarbaby, Lilbaby, and now Fanny who had been relegated to the status of a sneaker. I even chased back Jarhead from Fanny when she showed up and amazingly she sat there until Jarhead was pushed back, then hopped onto my feeder. She seemed to know that Young Frankenstein wasn't after her this time. Fanny is a regular now, she chooses the other feeders over my feeder about half the time with sometimes touching base with all three. If there is any opposition met at the other feeders she will always dart to me for a little nip. She once sat on my finger about a minute while a Costa's male dived on her.....drinking and occasionally looking up. This was either intimidation or courtship on the part of the male since they are the same species and it's getting that time for the Costa's. At any rate she seemed uninterested except for the nectar.
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