Monday, November 12, 2012

Anna's Hummingbirds Wintering in Idaho?!

Got an email from fellow Idaho birder Steve Kellaway this morning wondering about a late hummingbird sighting in his backyard, visiting his frozen solid feeder. He snapped a couple of photos and emailed them to me and it looked pretty good for an Anna's Hummingbird.

Now I've seen plenty of Anna's in Arizona, but never having seen one in Idaho, or outside of Arizona for that matter, I had to chase this one. Steve welcomed me into his beautiful home and within minutes we were getting some quick visits to the feeders he had put out with fresh nectar. But it was too fast for me to snap some photos.

While we waited for the hummer to return I noticed Steve's home was full of beautiful artwork which I asked about. He's a fine art painter. Check out his website! Why is it that so many artists are also into birds? I think it's because they know and appreciate that which is beautiful.

Finally, the tiny hummer stopped for a good long drink and I was able to digiscope several images with the Swarovski ATX 85mm spotting scope I have on loan.
Diagnostic field marks of winter Anna's: Long sloping forehead. White over the eye. Short straight bill. Grayish belly with green spotted flanks. Wingtips and tail end at the same point. Throat patch, or heavy spotting. (I actually caught one glimpse of pink on the throat while viewing this bird through the scope.)

Any hummingbird sighting this late is an exciting event. As it turns out, if you see one in the northwest this time of year, it's most likely an Anna's Hummingbird. They have been making late fall and winter appearances in Idaho with such frequency that the IBRC is now only interested in spring/summer sightings. Seems paradoxical that summer sightings of a hummingbird are more rare than winter sightings, doesn't it?

One of my favorite Idaho Birders, Cheryl Huizinga, has played winter host to Anna's Hummingbirds the last couple of years in Caldwell, Idaho. This year, one showed up in September.
Anna's Hummingbirds are traditionally birds of the Southwestern United States and Pacific Coast, but a few vagrants have been found randomly across the U.S. and Canada. The map above shows that a few Anna's Hummingbirds stray into Idaho each winter. See AllAboutBirds.com for more cool facts about Anna's Hummingbirds.

14 comments:

  1. What a great find! Having no hummingbirds other than the RTHU here in the MWest, I live vicariously through others posts for neat ones like this :-)

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    1. Warblers or Hummingbirds...I guess you have to make the trade depending on where you choose to live in North America.

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  2. I love hummingbirds. I hope someday to photograph them on another trip to America.
    Greetings from Spain

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    1. Te esperamos aqui! Te recomiendo que visites el sureste de Arizona para obtener la mayor variedad de colibríes hermosos.

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    1. Indeed. Glad you got one in Delaware, which is even more amazing!

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  4. I wish I could see one in person

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    1. Southeastern Arizona is the best place for seeing hummingbirds, but Idaho has a few really good ones.

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  5. Hi Robert!

    We recently had an Anna's Hummingbird visitor here in Calgary, AB, Canada that I decided to chase down on November 6th. My only question is how they get over the mountains? That seems like such a huge task for these little guys!

    Here are some photos I managed of the gal up here.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubermoogle/sets/72157631948425330/with/8162595319/


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    1. Hummingbirds are far tougher birds than most of us give them credit for. Long migrations over all kinds of terrain or even bodies of water. They certainly get around. And modern landscaping practices have really perpetuated vagrancy and range expansion.

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  6. Great find! I wonder how they survive. The nights must be even colder than the days. Do they go into some kind of torpor?

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    1. I wonder about that too. Trying to maintain 107 F body temperature in below freezing temps must require a ton of energy, and with insects and nectar supplies reduced by such cold temperatures, how do they do it? I have read about them going into torpor to conserve energy, but I can't help but think that most vagrant hummers this time of year are moribund.

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  7. I live in kuna id and last year was the first year i put out feeders i do believe i had an annas hummingbird feeding everyday.. i have a huge garden and id have for or five different hummingbirds zooming all around chasing one another.. i just feel in love.. cant wait to get my feeders up this year. Love the story great pics.. any tips are welcome would love to learn as much as i can..Sk8slittlefox@msn.com or gmail.com

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  8. I live in kuna id and last year was the first year i put out feeders i do believe i had an annas hummingbird feeding everyday.. i have a huge garden and id have for or five different hummingbirds zooming all around chasing one another.. i just feel in love.. cant wait to get my feeders up this year. Love the story great pics.. any tips are welcome would love to learn as much as i can..Sk8slittlefox@msn.com or gmail.com

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