A. aborescens blooms around Thanksgiving- quite reliably if it has rained. The flower spikes seems to wait for the first rain.The spikes coincide with the hummingbird migrations south. Hummingbirds love these aloes. Anyone who has watched hummingbirds knows how furiously territorial they are, staking claims to favorite feeders, but especially to favorite a. aborescens. There’s a resident Anna’s male http://www.hummingbirds.net/annas.html who has staked a claim to the aloes . He will, clicking like a castanet, cede a few blossoms to a finch (?) that migrates around the same time. The bird may be looking for seeds, or bugs, not taking nectar. Hard to tell. Is a a nectar-eating small grey bird likely in So Cal in November? A finch seems more reasonable as we have flocks feeding on nyger seed in the back yard.