This hummingbird is the soul of my garden, and its return lights up my garden with hope. Adult hummingbirds weigh no more than a nickel, but they are renowned for using more energy per unit of body weight than another other known animal in the world. They can hover or move backwards, with wings rotating from the shoulder. In western Washington, we are most likely to see Anna's Hummingbird or the rufous hummingbird. Anna's hummingbird often over-winters in the milder areas of western Wahsington.
Hummingbirds eat nectar from flowers and also gather insects for protein.
They eat aphids and other insects as well as small spiders. A hummingbird skimming through the air at evening can very well be scooping up gnats or aphids. Ornithologists and students of animal physiology have been fascinated by the hummingbird's ability to lower their body temperature and heart rate at night to rest and conserve their food resources. Hummingbirds need nectar-rich flowers in the garden. They are most readily drawn to plants with brilliant red or orange tubular shaped flowers.