gardengal, is it correct that only Anna's are what winter in your area?

It is fun to watch them. You must have some newer arrivals testing if they have the ability to hold feeding territory. Even when it is cooler outside, I like to crack the office window so I can listen to the hummingbirds as well as see them. Mine have gotten to the point of sharing, but they remain noisy!

But the volume really goes up when a newbie arrives, if he tries to monopolize a feeder. The others will gang-harass him for hours, giving him little chance to eat. Even though there are unused feeders 10' away. The bossy one ends up sharing, or leaving. They have their rules!

Yes, the Anna's are the permanent residents here. We get migrating vistors during the summer months but it is just the Anna's that are here all through winter.

There are scads of hummers here. I see and hear them all over and darn near every household has feeders out. I think many claim their own territory/household and it's the same couple (maybe a mated pair) I see everyday and even they do not always show up together. But I'm sure you are correct in that an interloper to the garden caused all that ruckus. Has been quiet out there since I first posted so he was obviously chased off and has gone back to wherever he came from :-)

I love listening to them!! All the clicks and trills and chattering!! And sometimes they just perch in the ancient plum tree by my patio and sing their little hearts out :-)

ETA: My containerized grevillea has just started to bloom and while I know they will find it where it is currently, I think I will move it so that it is more visible to me and raise the pot so that it is more accessible to the birds.

I seldom see the two birds together but now and again, they will both be perching on opposite sides of the feeder....at least for a short time :-) Since I typically never see more than the two - that's why this multiple bird 'discussion' was so fascinating - I just assumed they were a pair.

It is just your bog standard Grevillea victoriae, so the potential to grow much larger. But it has been happily growing in a container for at least 5 years now and blooms reliably every winter. I'm sure it is the container culture that is dwarfing it as a friend nearby has one, a much younger plant, in the ground that is easily 4-5 times the size of mine. But I have no sunny real estate that is plantable, so a container it must be!

A fairly large number of grevilleas are offered here, but that one is not seen as often. It is probably less adapted to SoCal. It looks nice in photos. Grevilleas are great plants. I really need to remove our two G. 'Robyn Gordon's though because I suffer for 3-4 weeks whenever it manages to poke me. But the dang things bloom every day of the year. Wish I'd known about the dermatitis before they ended up being planted in the bed beside the sidewalk--but those real estate availability issues plague me, too, and there are no good alternatives.

I am a bit of a hot, red-orange flower freak, so this plant ticks off all my boxes - long bloom season and when not much else is going on, the hummingbirds love it, killer flower color, evergreen and it tends to be very tolerant of our sometimes ferocious Arctic cold snaps. What's not to like?

They're back!! Much goings on again at the feeder this morning! Maybe neighboring households are not offering feeders at this time of year, so the birds are ranging further afield to find nectar sources. If so, they (neighbors) are missing out as these little guys keep me entertained all winter long :-)

Stealing neighbors' hummingbirds is not a crime, is it? I hope not, because I might be forced to plead guilty. ;) Sounds as if you are just picking up their slack.

Morning and evening tank up times are well known, but have you noticed a lunch rush, too? Here, around 2pm, I also see the feeding frenzy of the other usual busy times. The number of birds spikes, and there is a noticeable increase of activity and noise.

I suspect that I am drawing some visiting birds, that maintain territories in other parts of the neighborhood, but pop in for some feedings here. Those birds behave differently when approached. While the regulars perch nearby during feeder switch outs, the visitors are much more skittish and take off and disappear into the distance.

I want to live where you live!

Haven't noticed any lunch rush here :-) But then, I am pretty far north so breakfast time is late to begin with as it is not fully light until nearly 8 am and it's dark again by 4pm, so not that much activity at dinner either :-) Really, the morning feeding seems to be the most popular although they come back and forth all day long.

I do not mind snitching the neighhbors' birds........if they are not going to feed and enjoy them, I will!!