Very nice pictures. Ed will enjoy seeing your Anna's using the cupheas. Penny

I'm on the other side of the country and was under the impression that there weren't any around this area for winter but saw one Thursday. It visited every flower on a large Camellia shrub, then buzzed by my head, chittering, having a great time! I don't know them well enough to know what kind it was but it was definitely some kind of hummingbird. I reported the sighting to this site and received this reply: "It may come as a shock to you, but your hummingbird could easily be one of a dozen species that we now know live in Alabama in winter. We are fortunate to have in our banding/research studies, Mr. Fred Bassett of Montgomery who does a lot of research work in your part of the state. If you do not have a hummingbird feeder at your home, please hang a feeder now. Mix your sugar water solution 4 parts water to 1 part sugar if you will. With your permission, if the hummer starts coming to your feeder, he would like to come to your yard and try to capture, band/document and identify your uncommon wintering hummer. The most important people in our study of these tiny birds are folks like you who discover them in winter and then contact us."

Annas are plentiful all around the Puget Sound area - I've been tending to an overwintering family group for years now. I only put out feeders in the winter to assist with their needs during this sparcely flowered time of year. Fortunately my feeder is right in front of my dining room window, so the show is visible from inside the house on nonstop basis. digsdahlias, 'Gardenmeister' is not a hardy fuchsia - it is a tender hybrid and is unlikely to overwinter well even in our mild climate without protection. OTOH, there is a huge selection of very hardy shrublike fuchsias that offer a long and prolific bloom season - I grow about 15 different cultivars to keep my hummers happy and because they offer such a long blooming colorful addition to the garden. For winter attraction, try planting Mahonia x media hybrids (Charity, Hope, Arthur Menzies, etc), sarcococca, witch hazels, Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn', Lonicera fragrantissima, Corylopsis and Chimonanthus (wintersweet). I've even seen my hummers feed at blooming hellebores and winter blooming heaths and heathers. If it flowers in winter and produces nectar, they will find it! Nectar only makes up a portion of their diet and is very helpful to keep up calorie intake and energy levels in cold weather, but they also feed very heavily on small insects. A well diversified garden filled with a range of different plant types as well as those that are noted hummer attractors will keep your hummers happy year round.

How gorgeous. Dax