Male Anna's Hummingbird

I bet you thought I meant "Annie's" hummingbird. Well sort of. It is one of the couple of males that is currently in dispute over our feeders. But no, not "Annie's" but "Anna's". That's the type of hummingbird this is. They actually started out in Central America. But gradually they moved north and developed the ability to handle colder and colder temperatures. And now they are here during the winter. If you look at the large photo you can see his tongue. They have split tongues that open and close to suck the nectar into the bird's mouth. Quite amazing really.

The extra photo shows just how cold it is here right now. We have snow in our hills and the hummer feeders were frozen solid early this morning, as was the birdbath. It is cold! But these little guys soldier on. And the sun was out, so soon the feeders melted and the birds were delighted to partake of the nectar in them. I took the extra late this afternoon after a day of being busy. 

I went to acupuncture at eleven and then did a bunch of shopping. We were getting low on lots of things, both our food and the bird and cat food, so I stopped at the Farmer's Coop and Haggen's. Now the larder is stocked again and I am ready for a night's rest.