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Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) is the only overwintering hummingbird in Santa Cruz. It is also the most common hummingbird on the West Coast and is relative to other hummingbird medium sized (10 cm, ~4 g). Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolic rates among vertebrates and their heart rate can reach 1260 beats per min (Lasiewski and Lasiewski, 1967)! To maintain this exceptional high metabolism hummingbirds primarily live off nectar. But they also feed on spiders and small insects to get proteins.

In the Arboretum located at UC Santa Cruz it is quite easy to get close to these birds when they suck nectar from Erica flowers. After a few visits to the garden watching their behavior I found out that once I sat still on the ground for a few minutes they would get within the shooting range of my camera. Beside the pictures displayed below, I have posted a gallery of hummingbirds here.