Hummingbirds

Image of a hummingbird drinking nectar from California fuchsia in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

Pollinator Plant List: Hummingbirds

Posted by Sydney Odman on Wed, October 09, 2019

Did you know hummingbirds move much faster and over considerably larger areas than insect pollinators do? With their fast wings, compact size and slender bills, it's no wonder that these tiny birds play such an important role in our environment. Unfortunately, due to climate change, habitat loss and a variety of other human-caused influences, researchers consider nearly 15% of hummingbird species vulnerable to extinction. 

Environmental Education
Image of hummingbird grazing in a patch of California fuchsia in the UC Davis Hummingbird GATEway Garden.

Gardening for Pollinators

Why garden for pollinators?
  • Nearly all ecosystems on earth depend on the pollination of flowering plants for survival. 
  • Human population growth threatens wild creatures and a variety of plant species by shrinking their habitat. As native plants disappear, so do the pollinators.
  • Plants and pollinators have evolved together and depend on one another for survival. Placing native plants and other pollinator-supporting plants in the landscape helps support native pollinators.
  • Pollination is vital to our food supply.
Learning about pollinators

Create and celebrate at Pollinator Discovery Day

Posted by Katie Hetrick on Thu, May 17, 2018
What’s all the buzz about pollinators? Find out Sunday, May 20 from 1–4 p.m. at “Pollinator Discovery Day” in the UC Davis Arboretum’s Hummingbird GATEway Garden (located just north of the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive). Attendees at this free event will learn about a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, how the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden supports their habitat needs throughout its campus landscapes and how everyone can to do the same at home.
Community Engagement
UC Davis Hummingbird GATEway Garden

UC Davis Hummingbird GATEway Garden

Fri, September 08, 2017
UC Davis Hummingbird GATEway Garden demonstrates how to create dedicated habitats to support hummingbirds year round, sheds light on the importance of the hummingbird population, its decline, and the work being done at UC Davis to help support them.
Environmental Education
Image of hummingbird in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden

Hummingbirds in your Garden

Sun, February 28, 2016
Despite being the tiniest birds in the world, hummingbirds pack a lot of attitude. Feisty and noisy, these sparkling garden denizens are beautiful and entertaining. Our local year-round resident is the Anna’s hummingbird, a medium-sized hummingbird with an iridescent rosy-pink color on the neck and head (in males) that flashes brightly when exposed to sunlight at the right angle.
Environmental Education
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