Hummingbirds Are Attracted to Red!!?

This blue agave (A. fransozinii) with the arched nine-foot leaves and the 25' inflorescence with yellow flowers would not likely be a good target for hummingbirds. Correct? Red flowers = hummingbirds. Well, there may be some truth to the color red attracting some hummingbirds. However, with an abundance of energy-rich nectar produced, the hummers will show up!

Look closely and try to count 'em! And this is only one section of the flower spike. The much smaller specks are bees feeding on the same flowers. I tried to count the hummingbirds around this inflorescence - and as you can imagine, it was tricky. Best as I can figure there were 50 or 60 birds in view at any one time - and who knows HOW many more in the shadows, waiting there turn? In North Carolina, the folks at the Hummer Bird Study Group felt that for every Ruby-Throated Hummingbird seen around a feeder, there were at least 5x that many in the very nearby area!

Closer inspection reveals these hummers to be Anna's Hummingbirds - quite common here on the Central California Coast.

Like most hummers, they are very territorial - even with such a huge resource of food! You can see a bee below the lower hummingbird.

It was like observing a three-ring circus watching these hummers feed and dance. All it took was one good agave, about 30 years of good growing, 25' of flower spike and nectar dripping from each of hundreds of yellow blooms.