It took me six years, but through a mix of intentional plantings and
self-seedings of native wildflowers, I've had daily -- almost day long --
visits from at least one male and at least one female Broad-tailed
Hummingbird in my Centennial yard (approx. 5,800 feet). While this
"achievement," if we can call it that, won't surprise anyone, owing to the
commonness of Broad-tails and the ease of attracting them with sugar-water,
it's quite exciting for me. I don't think that they're nesting in my yard;
the visits seem more for food and the two eventually fly off. I quite like
hearing the male's trill. Now and then, he must chase off another male --
because the sound gets much more intense than when he's displaying
otherwise.
A few observations...
- I've noticed the female Broad-tailed Hummingbird on the ground on a
few occasions.
- Once, she seemed to be foraging in damp, exposed soil in a
neighbor's yard. (I was gardening and didn't have my binoculars.) I
thought
she might have been collecting nesting material, but after she finished
on
the ground, she perched in an apple tree and preened.
- Today, after feeding on Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii),
she responded to the male's territorial dive by dropping to the stones
around my fire pit. He flitted around and toward her -- low -- and she
seemed to flutter her wings a bit. I think this may be the "whisking
display" of the male, which is described in *Birds of the World* as
part of the bonding of the pair. I'd not observed it previously.
- Currently, Penstemon eatonii is the main food source for the two. I
don't remember when I first planted one -- or how (by seed or from a
nursery-purchased plant). But it must have been 2016 or 2017. I've learned,
though, that one plant labeled for hummingbirds does not make a territory
and visits to my yard when there were only a few of this species were
irregular at best. The first of this penstemon has reseeded freely, and
I've also intentionally planted several more from seed from my yard. There
must be a dozen, maybe nearly 20, of these plants currently blooming. This
flower seems to bloom in my yard just in time for the last snowfall of the
year. Its rather horizontal right now, owing to the wet snow we got at the
end of May. Its blooms are nearly spent and its many seed pods are forming.
- I've also seen the Broad-tails visit Penstemon whippleanus, which has
a wonderful, dark purple flower. It's native to higher elevations in CO,
but is doing well so far in my yard. I started them from seed last year.
This is the first year they've bloomed. The timing of their bloom seems
similar to Penstemon eatonii (mid-to-late May) -- but I think this is quite
a bit earlier than they bloom at higher elevations. Seed can be obtained
from Western Native Seeds (https://westernnativeseed.com/).
- Today, I saw one of the Broad-tails (I've already forgotten which,
apologies) visit a Mountain Harebell bloom (Campanula rotundifolia), which
began blooming last week.
- Penstemon barbatus (aka Scarlet Bugler or Beardlip Penstemon) is just
beginning to bloom. Like Firecracker Penstemon, this penstemon has red
flowers, though I prefer this penstemon's more open structure to
Firecracker's. I believe there are only three flowering plants of this in
my yard, so I don't know if it'll be enough to maintain the Broad-tailed
pairs commitment to it. However, more harebell blooms should be forthcoming
and there are other penstemon species that may begin blooming soon.
- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO
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