California is where the hummingbird story of the American West begins. It's the ancestral home of Anna's, the species that has since colonized Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho and Alaska. It hosts most of the world's Allen's Hummingbirds. It has a desert species that nests in February and a mountain species that nests at 10,000 feet. Fourteen hummingbird species have been documented here.

Anna's Hummingbird is reported on close to a third of every bird list submitted in California — in January, in July, every week of the year. Its quietest week of the year still beats the busiest week most states ever see. And eighty years ago it barely occurred north of Santa Barbara.

Whether you're gardening on a coastal balcony, a Central Valley patio, a foothill property with oaks and chaparral, or out in the low desert, this guide covers what you need: who's around and when, feeder and nectar care, pest-safe cleaning, and the native plants that actually belong in a California yard.

The short version, if you're in a hurry:

To attract hummingbirds in California, keep a leak-proof feeder up year-round filled with fresh, dye-free nectar — Anna's are here every month, and in Southern California so are Allen's. Clean and refill it every one to six days depending on heat, skip the insecticide so hummingbirds can still hunt insects for protein, and plant natives that bloom in winter — because Anna's start nesting in December.

• Best feeder type: leak-proof design with a comfort perch, like the AspenPerch® Hummingbird Feeder
• Best nectar: plain 4:1 water-to-sugar ratio, no red dye — or Pop's Nectar with added electrolytes and calcium
• Feeder timing: year-round, everywhere except the high Sierra. This is not a state where you put feeders away.
• Most abundant hummingbird in the country: even in its quietest week, Anna's still turns up on nearly a third of California bird lists
• Nectar change frequency: every 1–2 days above 90°F — which in the Central Valley and deserts means most of the summer
• Pest control: no insecticide — use vinegar-water spray and HummGuard™ nectar tips instead
• Top native plants: manzanita and fuchsia-flowered gooseberry for winter, hummingbird sage and monkeyflower for spring, California fuchsia for late summer
• Two to avoid: tree tobacco and sweet alyssum are both listed invasives in California, despite being widely recommended

What Types of Hummingbirds Are in California?

Fourteen species are accepted to California's official state list. Six occur regularly, and which ones you get depends enormously on where you are.

Anna's Hummingbird

The most abundant and most-encountered hummingbird in North America, and California is its home. It's reported on 63% of bird lists in Sacramento at peak, 58% in the Bay Area, 56% in San Diego — and its statewide low, in any week of any season, is still above 32%.

It didn't used to be like this. Anna's was historically confined to the chaparral of central and southern California and northern Baja. From the 1930s onward it expanded dramatically, first within California and then north — reaching Oregon and Vancouver Island by 1944 and Alaska in recent decades. Eucalyptus plantings around San Francisco Bay are credited with kick-starting the early spread, but research published in 2025 concluded that the effect of backyard feeders "far outweighed the effects of the eucalyptus."

They nest in winter. Anna's begin nesting in December — occasionally November in the far south — and continue into June, raising two and sometimes three broods. That's why winter-blooming natives matter more in California than almost anywhere else.

Quick ID: Males have an iridescent rose-pink crown and throat — the only North American hummingbird where the colour covers the whole head. It looks flat black until light hits it directly. Females are grey-green, usually with a few red flecks at the throat. Anna's is also the only US hummingbird that really sings: a scratchy, insistent little song from a high perch.

Allen's Hummingbird — two birds in one

Most of the world's Allen's Hummingbirds nest along the California coast, and the species behaves in two completely different ways depending on which one you have.

The migratory subspecies (Selasphorus sasin sasin) breeds in the coastal fog belt and winters in Mexico. Around Humboldt it's absent from October through January, appears in February, peaks in June, and is gone again by August.

The resident subspecies (S. s. sedentarius) doesn't migrate at all. It was originally endemic to the Channel Islands, colonized the mainland at the Palos Verdes Peninsula sometime before 1966, and has expanded from about 70 square kilometres in 1970 to roughly 13,000 today — through the urban parks and gardens of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and western Riverside counties.

You can see the difference in the records. Around San Diego, Allen's never drops below 22% of bird lists in any week of the year. Around Humboldt, it's at zero for four straight months. Same species, two entirely different lives.

Quick ID: Males have a coppery-orange throat and rust-coloured sides and tail, but — critically — a solid green back, where Rufous males show extensive rust on the back. Females and immatures cannot be reliably separated from Rufous in the field at all; it takes measurements of the outer tail feathers, in the hand.

Costa's Hummingbird

California's desert specialist, and a bird that runs on a completely different calendar. Costa's breeds in the Mojave and Colorado deserts from March through May, timed to the desert bloom — ocotillo and chuparosa — and on the coast from April through July. As summer heat arrives, most disperse westward toward the coast or south into Mexico.

Around Riverside it's reported on 30% of bird lists at its April peak. Along the coast and in the Central Valley, barely 1%.

Quick ID: Males have a violet-purple crown and a gorget that flares dramatically out to the sides, giving a distinctive moustache-like silhouette. Females are pale grey-white below and very plain — often the clue is simply that you're in the desert.

Black-chinned Hummingbird

The Central Valley's bird. Black-chinned is reported on 27% of Sacramento bird lists at peak, rivaling the highest figures we've found anywhere in this series, and it's strongly tied to riparian corridors of cottonwood, willow and sycamore. It arrives March into May and departs by September, wintering in western Mexico.

It's much thinner elsewhere: 9% in Riverside, 5% in the eastern Sierra and San Diego, 1% in the Bay Area, and essentially absent from the north coast.

Quick ID: Males have a velvety black throat edged with a thin violet band that only shows at the right angle. Females and young are green-backed with plain pale throats. Black-chinned pump and fan their tails almost constantly while hovering, which is often the best clue.

Rufous Hummingbird

California is the first leg of the Rufous migration highway. They move north up the Pacific lowlands from February through May — the statewide peak is the first week of April — then return south through the Sierra and interior mountains from July onward.

They're mostly passing through, though the California Department of Fish and Wildlife lists Rufous as an uncommon summer resident with confirmed breeding in the Trinity Mountains, plus a rare but probably regular winter presence in southern California.

Quick ID: Adult males are coppery orange with a rust-coloured back — the back is what separates them from Allen's. Females and young are green-backed with rufous-washed flanks and cannot be told from Allen's in the field.

Calliope Hummingbird

North America's smallest bird, and California's mountain breeder. Calliope nests in the Sierra Nevada and other ranges, in mountain meadows and open montane forest, at elevations reaching 10,000 feet. It passes through the lowlands in spring migration but breeds high.

Quick ID: Tiny even for a hummingbird, with a short tail that doesn't reach the wingtips at rest. Males show magenta streaks radiating down a white throat rather than a solid gorget — unlike anything else in California.

California's Rarities

The remaining eight species on the official state list range from rare-but-regular to genuinely extraordinary:

• Broad-tailed Hummingbird — a local summer breeder in the White, Inyo and Panamint ranges, at the western edge of its Rocky Mountain range. Mono County is where to look.
• Broad-billed Hummingbird — rare but now regular enough that it was removed from the state review list.
• Violet-crowned, Rivoli's, Blue-throated Mountain-gem, Mexican Violetear, Ruby-throated — genuine vagrants, a handful of accepted records each.
• Xantus's Hummingbird — the rarest of all, with exactly two accepted California records: a male at Yaqui Well in December 1986, and a female at Ventura from January to March 1988. That female twice attempted to nest, and laid eggs that never hatched.

When Do Hummingbirds Arrive and Leave California?

California barely has an off-season. What changes is which species you have, and that varies more across this state than anywhere else in the country.

Statewide Picture

Anna's is the constant — even in its quietest week of the year it still turns up on nearly a third of California checklists. Allen's is the other heavyweight, peaking in spring.

How often each species turns up on eBird checklists, week by week — statewide, 2016–2025.

The state's other four regular species run at a much smaller scale, so they get their own chart. All four peak in April, within three weeks of each other.

How often each species turns up on eBird checklists, week by week — statewide, 2016–2025.

Hummingbirds by Region

Derived from eBird bar chart data (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), 2016–2025, for Humboldt, Alameda, Sacramento, San Diego, Riverside and Mono counties, cross-checked against California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Birds of the World species accounts. Percentages describe how often a species is reported on submitted bird lists, not population counts.

The eastern Sierra is the exception that proves the rule. Around Mono County, Anna's collapses to 8% and no species dominates — Rufous, Costa's, Black-chinned, Calliope and Broad-tailed all occur at similar low levels. It's the one part of California that behaves like a Great Basin state rather than a Californian one.

Want the full picture? Our California hummingbird season calendar breaks the year down month by month and region by region — including the December nesting season and the desert's early spring.

Nesting in California

California's nesting calendar is unlike anywhere else in the country, because it starts in the middle of winter.

• Anna's: December through June, occasionally starting in November in the far south. Two broods, sometimes three. Two eggs, incubated about 16 days; young leave the nest around three weeks later.
• Allen's: February through June. The resident southern population has a longer season than the migratory coastal one.
• Costa's: March through May in the deserts, April through July on the coast — timed to the desert bloom.
• Black-chinned: April through August, peaking in June, in Central Valley and foothill riparian corridors.
• Calliope: late spring into summer, high in the Sierra.

The female does all of it alone in every case — building, incubating, and feeding the young without any help from a mate.

When to Put Your Feeder Up (and Take It Down)

How to Attract Hummingbirds in a Small Yard, Balcony, or Big Property

You don't need acres of land to invite wonder into your yard. Hummingbirds are famously adaptable — all they're really looking for is a dependable food source, a safe place to perch, and a little color.

Small Patio or Balcony

One feeder hung from a bracket or shepherd's hook, paired with a container of red or orange tubular blooms like California fuchsia, is plenty to get noticed. Hummingbirds are solitary feeders by nature, so a single feeder works great in tight spaces. See our guide to the best hummingbird products for a small patio or balcony for more ideas.

Average Backyard

Add a mix of feeders and native blooms along a fence line or garden bed, and give your visitors a swing or two nearby to rest and survey their territory between sips.

Large Yard with Trees

Take advantage of the shade. Hummingbirds prefer feeders and plantings tucked out of harsh, direct afternoon sun — which matters enormously in the Central Valley and deserts. Spread multiple feeders far apart, since hummingbirds are territorial and will happily chase each other off a single feeder.

Keep Feeders Clean with Fresh Nectar

Choose a Leak-Proof Feeder

A feeder is only as good as what's in it — and how well it's kept. Pop's AspenPerch® Hummingbird Feeder is leak-proof by design and paired with our patented Polyperch® comfort perch, so your hummingbirds can rest and feed at the same time instead of hovering the whole meal.

Feeding Fundamentals

• Only fill what they'll drink in a few days. Overfilling just means more nectar sitting around long enough to spoil — and California summers are unforgiving.
• Skip the red dye. Your feeder's colour does the attracting. Never use honey (fermented honey can cause a fatal fungal infection), brown sugar, molasses, or artificial sweeteners.
• Clean it, not just refill it. Dirty feeders spread disease. Avian pox has been documented in California Anna's Hummingbirds, and a neglected feeder is exactly how such things move between birds.
• Use a real nectar recipe, or save yourself the math with Pop's Nectar, formulated with added electrolytes and calcium to support hummingbirds through the demands of nesting season and migration — no dyes, no preservatives.

How Often to Change Nectar in California

California runs from foggy coastline to 115°F desert, so use the thermometer rather than the calendar:

Or skip the math altogether — Pop's Nectar comes pre-measured, dye-free, and with the electrolytes and calcium a nesting female can't get from sugar alone.

If the nectar ever looks cloudy before that window is up, change it early — cloudiness means it's already started to ferment, which happens fast once triple-digit heat sets in across the Central Valley and low desert. See our guide to how often to change hummingbird nectar for the full breakdown.

In Central Valley and desert summers this means daily changes for weeks at a stretch. A smaller feeder in deep shade is far better than a large one in sun. In the mountains and colder inland areas, the opposite problem applies — bring feeders in overnight or insulate them when temperatures approach freezing.

Keep Feeders Pest-Free Without Insecticide

Hummingbirds don't live on nectar alone — small insects make up a big part of their protein diet, especially for feeding chicks. That means insect spray is off the table around your feeding station; it removes a food source hummingbirds depend on and can be harmful to them directly.

Instead:

• Clean your feeder every time you change the nectar, using hot water and a bottle brush — no soap residue, no bleach. A little vinegar and water solution works well for sticky buildup or the beginnings of mould. Our practical guide to cleaning hummingbird feeders walks through the full process.
• Deter ants and bees with a vinegar-water spray around (not on) the feeder ports, or wipe down the hanging hook where ants tend to march down. Ant moats filled with water create a simple barrier. See our guide to keeping ants and bees away from hummingbird feeders for more tactics.
• Use HummGuard™ nectar tips if bees and wasps keep crashing the party. They slide right onto the AspenPerch's feeding ports — the flexible membrane opens easily for a hummingbird's beak but closes tight against anything bigger.

Give Them a Place to Rest

Hummingbirds spend a surprising amount of their day perched, not flying — watching their territory, digesting, and simply resting between feedings. A Pop's Original Hummingbird Swing hung near your feeder gives them exactly that spot, and it turns your feeding station into a front-row seat for watching them up close. Hang it within a foot or two of your feeder, and don't be surprised if a hummingbird claims it as their own personal lookout post. For more on positioning, see our guide to where to hang your hummingbird swing.

What Are the Best Plants to Attract Hummingbirds in California?

Feeders are a wonderful supplement, but nothing beats real, native nectar. And California has a requirement most states don't: because Anna's nest in December, your garden needs something flowering in winter.

Best Native Nectar Plants by Season

Pop's tip: If you plant two things, make them manzanita and California fuchsia. Between them you cover the two hardest gaps in the year — midwinter, when Anna's are nesting, and late summer, when the spring bloom is long finished.

Three Widely Recommended Plants to Avoid

These come up constantly in hummingbird and pollinator planting advice, including from sources that ought to know better. All three are problems in California specifically.

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is the one that catches people out. It's sold in every garden centre, it's in countless "pollinator" seed mixes, and almost nobody thinks of it as invasive — but the California Invasive Plant Council documents it escaping cultivation into coastal dunes, scrub, bluffs, prairies and riparian areas, where its long flowering season and rapid colonisation can crowd out native plants. If you garden anywhere near the coast, leave this one out.

Tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) is a South American shrub that hummingbirds genuinely do feed from — which is exactly why it keeps getting recommended. Calflora and Cal-IPC both flag it as an invasive plant in California native habitats. Plant chuparosa or California fuchsia instead and you'll get the same birds without the problem.

Eucalyptus deserves a more nuanced note. It genuinely did help Anna's expand — the winter-blooming blue gums planted around San Francisco Bay in the early 1900s gave the birds a nectar source in the leanest months. But it's an introduced tree with well-documented problems of its own. Treat it as a piece of California history rather than a planting recommendation.

If You're Near the Border

Hummingbirds don't check a map before deciding where to feed, so if you're near a state line, your best guide might be a blend of both.

Near Oregon: The north coast shares Oregon's fog belt, its migratory Allen's, and the same year-round Anna's pattern. See our Oregon hummingbird guide for more.

Near Nevada: The eastern Sierra and California's high desert share the Great Basin community — Calliope, Broad-tailed, and Palmer Penstemon's true native range. See our Nevada hummingbird guide for more.

Near Arizona: California's Colorado Desert blurs into Arizona's Sonoran Desert, sharing Costa's and the ocotillo-and-chuparosa bloom that drives its breeding season. See our Arizona hummingbird guide for more.

To make this easy, our Perfect Little Sanctuary® Wildflower Seed Blend is designed to bring nectar-rich color into your yard with minimal fuss.

When to Plant the Perfect Little Sanctuary® Blend in California

Late fall is prime planting season across most of California — aim for October through November, just before the winter rains. Seed settles in, gets natural moisture, germinates through winter, and blooms from early spring into summer. The exception is higher-elevation Sierra gardens, where spring planting after the last frost beats fighting a real mountain winter.

Top Performers in California

California is the best fit for this blend of any state in the series — and the only one where several varieties are genuine natives:

• Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) — endemic to California, meaning it grows wild nowhere else on Earth. Where it struggles in humid states, this is its home. Primarily a bee plant, but hummingbirds use it too.
• Palmer Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) — genuinely native to California's desert mountains in Inyo and San Bernardino counties, and a real hummingbird favourite. Strongest inland and in the high desert.
• Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) — a California native of the mountains and east side, and one of the better hummingbird plants in the mix.
• White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) — California native, extremely drought tolerant once established.
• Columbine — the California native is western columbine (Aquilegia formosa), an excellent hummingbird plant. Common European garden columbine is not native here.

The remaining varieties came from elsewhere: Purple Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan, Lance-Leaved Coreopsis and Perennial Lupine are all eastern or midwestern natives — California has its own lupines, including arroyo lupine and sky lupine, worth seeking out instead. Indian Blanket is a Great Plains annual, though heat and drought tolerant enough to hold its own. Siberian Wallflower and Painted Daisy are not North American at all.

Pop's tip: Sow the blend as directed and it will do its job. But California gardeners have an advantage nobody else in this series has — an extraordinary native flora that evolved alongside these exact birds. Manzanita, California fuchsia and hummingbird sage will outperform anything in a seed packet.

Summary: Key Takeaways for Attracting Hummingbirds in California

Building a hummingbird-friendly yard doesn't take a green thumb or a big budget — just a little consistency and the right setup. Here's everything from this guide in one place:

• Anna's Hummingbird is reported on close to a third of all California bird lists in every week of the year, never dropping below 32% — the most abundant hummingbird in North America, and California is its ancestral home.
• Anna's nest in December, so winter-blooming natives like manzanita matter more here than in any other state.
• Fourteen hummingbird species are on California's official state list. Six occur regularly.
• Allen's Hummingbird lives two different lives: a migratory subspecies on the north and central coast, and a resident subspecies in Southern California that has expanded from the Channel Islands across the LA basin since the 1960s.
• Costa's is the desert specialist, breeding March through May, timed to the ocotillo and chuparosa bloom.
• Black-chinned is the Central Valley's bird, tied to riparian corridors, and reported there among the highest rates we've found anywhere in this series.
• The eastern Sierra is California's outlier — Anna's are scarce and no species dominates.
• Keep feeders up year-round everywhere except the high Sierra. In California, taking a feeder down in autumn removes food from birds about to nest.
• Change nectar daily above 90°F, and keep feeders in shade — Central Valley and desert summers are the real hazard here.
• Skip red dye and never use honey. Clean at every change; avian pox has been documented in California Anna's.
• Never use insecticide near feeders; hummingbirds rely on insects for protein. Use vinegar-water spray and HummGuard™ nectar tips instead.
• Add a swing near the feeder to give hummingbirds a place to rest and be observed up close.
• Plant manzanita for winter and California fuchsia for late summer above all else. Avoid sweet alyssum and tree tobacco — both are sold widely as pollinator plants and both are listed invasives in California.
• Sow wildflower seed in October–November. Clarkia, Palmer Penstemon, Scarlet Gilia, White Yarrow and western columbine are genuine California natives in the blend.

Get these basics in place, and the wonder takes care of itself.

This guide covers what's specific to California — the species, the timing, the plants that belong here. For the fundamentals that apply anywhere, including water sources, shelter, and how the pieces work together, read our guide to building the ultimate hummingbird sanctuary.

Frequently Asked Questions

A few of the questions we hear most from fellow hummingbird lovers across California:

Should I take my hummingbird feeder down in winter in California?

No. Anna's Hummingbirds are here every month of the year and begin nesting in December, so a feeder removed in autumn takes food away from birds that are about to breed. In Southern California, resident Allen's are year-round too. The only part of the state with a genuine off-season is the high Sierra and eastern California.

How many hummingbird species live in California?

Fourteen are on the official state list. Six occur regularly: Anna's, Allen's, Costa's, Black-chinned, Rufous and Calliope. The rest range from rare-but-regular, like Broad-tailed in the White Mountains, to genuine one-off vagrants.

Why do I see hummingbirds nesting in the middle of winter?

Because Anna's genuinely nest then. Egg-laying starts in December, sometimes November in the far south, and continues into June across two or three broods. It's timed to California's winter rains and the native plants that bloom with them — manzanita above all.

What's the difference between an Allen's and a Rufous Hummingbird?

In adult males, the back: Allen's has a solid green back, Rufous has extensive rust on the back. In females and immatures there is no reliable field mark at all — they can only be separated by measuring the outer tail feathers in the hand. If you're in coastal Southern California, an unidentified one is far more likely to be a resident Allen's.

Why don't I see many hummingbirds in the eastern Sierra?

Because Anna's, which dominates the rest of California, is scarce east of the crest. What you get instead is a more even mix of mountain and Great Basin species — Calliope, Rufous, Black-chinned, Costa's, and at the western edge of its range, Broad-tailed. It's a shorter season and a different cast.

How often should I clean my hummingbird feeder in California?

Daily when temperatures top 90°F, which in the Central Valley and deserts means most of the summer. Every two to three days in the 80s, and every five or six days in cool coastal weather. Use hot water and a scrub brush, and keep the feeder in shade — a clean feeder matters for disease as much as for spoilage.

What are the best plants to attract hummingbirds in California?

Manzanita for winter, when Anna's are nesting and almost nothing else is flowering. Hummingbird sage and sticky monkeyflower for spring. California fuchsia for late summer and fall. Those three cover the year. Avoid tree tobacco and sweet alyssum — both are listed invasives in California despite being widely recommended.

California Hummingbird Resources

Audubon Chapters

California has one of the largest Audubon networks in the country, with dozens of chapters and centres statewide. Find the one closest to you with Audubon's Find Your Local Audubon tool.

If You Find an Injured or Grounded Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are protected under federal and California state law, so only a licensed wildlife rehabilitator can legally care for one.

• CDFW — Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities — the official statewide directory. Wildlife emergency line: 888-334-2258.
• Hummingbird Rescue Center (San Diego County) — a rehabilitation organisation specialising specifically in hummingbirds.
• Terry Masear's Hummingbird Rescue (Los Angeles) — 310-804-3715. One of the country's best-known hummingbird rehabilitators, and the subject of the 2024 documentary Every Little Thing.

Hummingbird Research & Banding in California

• UC Davis Hummingbird Health and Conservation Program, led by Dr. Lisa Tell — one of very few federally permitted hummingbird master banders in California, overseeing banding stations across the state including sites along Putah Creek and at the UC Davis Arboretum.
• Hummingbird Monitoring Network — a hemispheric banding and monitoring effort using a standardised protocol.
• Point Blue Conservation Science and the Institute for Bird Populations run long-term banding and monitoring programmes across California.

Hummingbird Events in California

• The Kern River Valley Hummingbird Celebration, run by the Audubon Kern River Preserve in Weldon, is California's flagship hummingbird festival — held annually in early August and running for well over a decade. Check the Preserve's site for the current year's dates.

Sources

• eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — California statewide plus Humboldt, Alameda, Sacramento, Mono, San Diego and Riverside counties, 2016–2025.
• California Bird Records Committee, Western Field Ornithologists — official state checklist and accepted rarity records.
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife — species life-history accounts.
• Calscape, California Native Plant Society — native plant status and hummingbird associations.
• California Invasive Plant Council — invasive status of tree tobacco and sweet alyssum.
• Clark, C. J. (2017). eBird records show substantial growth of the Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin sedentarius) population in urban Southern California. The Condor, 119(1), 122–130.
• Battey, C. J. (2019). Ecological release of the Anna's Hummingbird during a northern range expansion. The American Naturalist, 194(3), 306–315.
• Greig, E. I., Wood, E. M., & Bonter, D. N. (2017). Winter range expansion of a hummingbird is associated with urbanization and supplementary feeding. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 284(1852), 20170256.
• Alexandre, N. M., et al. (2025). Supplemental feeding as a driver of population expansion and morphological change in Anna's Hummingbird. Global Change Biology.

Haven't grabbed it yet? Download the free California Quick Reference Guide — one page, print and keep.

Pop's Birding is a third-generation family company in Idaho. Our grandfather invented the hummingbird swing, and we still make what we sell. If you're setting up a California yard this season, start with a leak-proof feeder and nectar that doesn't need measuring, add a swing where they can rest between sips, and sow wildflower seed in October so there's real nectar waiting when the winter rains bring manzanita into bloom for nesting Anna's.