The Skydiving Love Language of Anna’s Hummingbirds
By Karisma Wilson,
March 12, 2025
On what seems to be an average morning walk, steaming cup in hand, eyes to the ground searching for crawling critters or glittering treasures, with countless birds chirping in the willows and laurels around me, a distinctive whir of wings catches my attention. I’ve just witnessed one of spring’s most spectacular performances.
A male Anna’s hummingbird, his throat flashing an impressive magenta, hovers in front of me, eyeing me as I check him out in turn. Suddenly, he rockets skyward, becoming a mere speck against the blue Marin sky. Then, he plummets back toward me in a death-defying dive. The speed is astonishing—I can actually hear the air whistling as he pulls up at the last possible moment, creating that distinctive chirp that seems impossibly loud for a creature weighing less than a nickel.
This is no ordinary flight—this is courtship at its most dramatic. Somewhere nearby, a female watches with me, judging his aerial prowess with discerning eyes. He’ll repeat this heart-stopping dive again and again, sometimes performing this move more than 100 times in a single day. The precision, the speed, and the sheer audacity of it leaves me impressed, but it’s hard to say how the girls feel. Anna’s Hummingbirds might have higher standards.
These tiny aerial acrobats with their emerald backs and bright pink throats represent just one strand in the intricate web of life that thrives on preserved open spaces. The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) is proud to support habitats where such remarkable creatures can perform their ancient rituals, reshaping our understanding of sustainable land management and biodiversity protection with each dramatic dive.
Migration Patterns and Adaption
While most hummingbird species undertake epic migrations spanning thousands of miles, Anna’s hummingbirds have developed a different relationship with our landscape. These adaptable birds exhibit partial migratory behavior, with some individuals traveling short distances while others remain year-round residents.
The Anna’s hummingbird’s ability to thrive as a permanent resident in coastal California represents generations of evolutionary response to our region’s mild climate and ever-present flowering plants. (Their adaptive choices make plenty of sense to me, who amongst us hasn’t considered trying to maintain a permanent presence on a California coast?) Becoming year-round residents has allowed them to claim territories from other hummingbird species that leave for migration, giving them a competitive advantage in our local ecosystem.
However, life’s no day at the beach. Climate change presents new challenges for these birds, potentially disrupting the delicate timing between hummingbird breeding cycles and the flowering of their preferred nectar sources. By monitoring these patterns on protected lands, conservationists can better understand and address these emerging threats.
The Role of Protected Lands in Biodiversity
Anna’s hummingbirds serve as more than charming microfauna—they function as important pollinators and indicators of ecosystem health. Their presence reflects the availability of diverse native flowering plants and the overall ecological integrity of our landscapes.
Conservation efforts focused on native plant restoration, reduction of pesticide use, and maintenance of habitat connectivity directly benefit Anna’s hummingbirds and a host of other plants and animals. When we protect lands that support these relationships, we’re preserving not just individual species, but entire ecological networks.
Keystone Species in Our Ecosystem
In many ways, Anna’s hummingbirds function as a keystone species, a species that California’s coastal ecosystems depend on. Anna’s hummingbirds help maintain the biodiversity that makes Marin County’s natural landscapes so resilient and vibrant. Without these tiny birds playing an outsized role in pollinating native plants, our landscape would change dramatically, and we could lose manzanita, gooseberry, currant, and the various wildflowers that bloom throughout the year.
Supporting Hummingbird Conservation
There are numerous ways to support Anna’s hummingbirds in your daily life, whether you have acres of land or a small balcony garden. Creating hummingbird-friendly spaces with native plants like salvia, monkeyflower, and California fuchsia and eliminating pesticide use not only provides essential food sources but also supports the entire ecosystem these birds depend on.
By choosing to support land conservation efforts, plant native species, and create wildlife-friendly spaces, we strengthen a regenerative process that respects the land, celebrates local biodiversity, and boosts the ecological resilience of our region. These benefits add up to a healthier environment that not only supports Anna’s hummingbirds but also enhances the natural beauty and sustainability of Marin County for generations to come.