Turf Wars

I have done numerous posts about the tyrannical Broad-billed Hummingbird that has staked out the area around the southwest corner of our house over the past couple of years. Because he is such a permanent fixture my husband has started referring to him as Twigman because he can always be found on the exact same twig outside my husbands office window. Well Twigman has somehow stuck and now visitors to our house know exactly who we are talking about when we mention him.

To say he is a feisty character would be an understatement. We get regularly scolded when we venture into his domain as does any other living thing. Over time he has gotten used to having his photo taken on a regular basis and will sometimes pose obligingly. At other times he glares fiercely at the lens

And on a number of occasions he has stuck his tongue out!!

However there is one flaw in Twigmans plan for world domination - he doesn't get up in the morning.
Whenever you read about hummingbirds it always talks about how they become active around sunrise. The urgent drive to refuel those tiny bodies means that they are usually one of the first bird species that you see in the morning. Well clearly Twigman hasn't read the literature as we rarely ever see him before about nine thirty, ten o'clock in the morning!
There are several other individuals who are taking full advantage of this chink in the iridescent armour of Twigman. The feeder outside our guestroom is frequented by a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds. 
  

They have learnt to feast early before the slothful tyrant awakens and even later they will take full advantage of their numerical advantage to sneak a drink.

 The copper feeder outside the kitchen window also has a pair of Anna's that swoop in when ever Twigman is busy chasing someone else!
 

And perhaps most surprisingly of all, a diminutive female Costa's Hummingbird has managed to take over the feeder outside the back porch single-handedly.

So if you have a plan to take over the world - remember, in order to be successful, you have to get up in the morning!