I figured the birds in my backyard would be upset when I removed a three year-old palo verde tree. After all, I wasn't happy about the act myself. The tree had grown quickly, reaching over a dozen feet tall and spreading its canopy even further, mercifully providing much needed shade and a cooling effect on a hot, sunny wall.
An additional benefit was that it offered perches for towhees, cardinals, and thrashers. Also verdins gorged on insects or seeds at the tips of the tree's skinny branches and gila woodpeckers hunted for grubs in the cavities of the expanding trunk.
However there was a problem below ground: the roots were outgrowing the raised planter box that anchored the tree. The strong winds from a heavy summer monsoon had buffeted the tree so violently that the container's concrete blocks were cracking. I was beginning to fear that another storm might even cause the adjacent wall to tumble down.
A local tree service arrived on a Wednesday and quickly started sawing at the old tree. With a supposedly smaller root footprint, a younger and smaller Texas ebony sat ready to replace it. One branch at a time, the palo verde tree was hacked into several dozen pieces that were quickly carted to the street and pulverized into mulch. Sentimentally I thought of Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees" that starts, "I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree..."
While I might have been unnecessarily maudlin - both the palo verde and Texas ebony grow quickly - another resident on the property was downright panic-stricken and angry. But it wasn't the towhee or the verdin or any of the other birds that actually live off of the tree; it was a male Anna's hummingbird.
The epitome of territorial, a single male always stakes a claim to the sugar water feeder I regularly refill. Not only does he chase any other hummingbirds away from the feeder, he does a good job of keeping them out of the whole yard. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he joined in the commotion surrounding the tree removal.
Usually wary of humans, this Anna's fussed closely overhead, landing on higher tree branches as lower ones were sawed, all the while noisily signalling his displeasure with his long, squeaky vocalizations. With the palo verde gone, he had no choice but to alight to the nearby lysiloma tree where a higher vantage point let him keep guard over his feeder and squeak his protestations further.
Fortunately like me, all the birds quickly adapted to the altered landscape. Thanks to my new winter habit of spreading sunflower seeds, it wasn't long before a colorful pair of cardinals and an inseparable pair of Abert's towhees returned to their regular dine and dashes in my backyard. It'll just be a matter of time before verdins take an interest in the new tree too.
All the while that male Anna's hummingbird didn't relinquish an inch of territory. Dogfights between him and other hummingbirds quickly continued in the yard and on the adjacent patio where the nectar feeder hangs. Just last week a less common species, a Costa's hummingbird, made a stealthy approach to the sugar water dispenser only to be chased away by the vigilant Anna's.
Several weeks after the palo verde tree's removal, the male Anna's remains emboldened. Only a couple of days ago when I was sitting on the patio he staked out a spot nearby and directed a unique territorial display towards me. Flashing his magenta gorget - or neck feathers - to draw attention is quite common for any male hummingbird. However, flaring them is another matter.
As he spread his feathers manelike and squealed his calls he was telling me how strong, healthy and in charge he was, a reminder that I was in his yard. While this exhibition might be intimidating to other hummingbirds, all I could think was: "For the king of the jungle, your roar comes up quite a bit short."
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| Male Anna's hummingbird flaring his gorget towards me in my Phoenix backyard. |
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| Male Anna's hummingbird flaring his gorget towards me in my Phoenix backyard. |
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| Male Anna's hummingbird striking a calmer pose in my Phoenix backyard. |
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