A friend of mine recently let me know that he had a very uncommon visitor at a hummingbird feeder he had been maintaining. All through the fall and into winter he had been changing the water to keep it thawed during the daylight hours. Nighttime low temperatures had consistently been in the twenty's, even the mid-teens, and there were two inches of fresh snow on the ground. How could there be a hummingbird here in Northeast Washington in late December?
My friend is a serious birder and he has had several unique finds in his bird-friendly yard. And in this case, the unique bird was a female Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna).
My friend invited me to come over and have a look. The day after Christmas I ventured to his house. He pointed me to a chair in his covered porch, about eight feet from the feeder. He said he had been up at 5:00 a.m. to put out fresh, unfrozen hummingbird food. He replaced the feeder contents several times each day during the December cold to make sure it was never frozen. He had been hoping to have an Anna's make a visit and his perseverance paid off.
Our rare arrival was an adult female. Wearing a light emerald green back and crown, this whirring Christmas ornament was at the feeder in less than ten minutes from the time I sat down. My friend had been timing the visits and said she had been feeding every fifteen to twenty minutes. Where had it come from and where had it been during the preceding autumn months, and now mid-winter cold? This was one tough hummer.
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| Adult female Anna's Hummingbird approaching feeder |
My presence on the covered porch was met with initial caution. The bird hovered at the feeder, but would not feed. It flew off after a few seconds. Within minutes it returned, but this time approaching me from behind, her wings sending the telltale hum we all recognize. But this was feeding time. It was cold and she needed the energy from the feeder contents as a matter of life and death. She approached the feeder, gave me a glance, and began to feed while still hovering. After a few quick sips she darted away to a nearby cluster of aspen trees.
The Anna's hummingbird is named after the Duchess Anna Messena. She was married to the second Duke of Rivoli and was a woman of some prestige in nineteenth century Italy. Up until the mid-twentieth century the Anna's was not found much further north than southern California and Baja Mexico. Their rapid expansion northward is attributed to the planting of flowering ornamentals in cities and towns. The Anna's is now a regular year-round resident west of the Cascade Range as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In recent years there have been more sightings in eastern Washington and northern Idaho as migrating Anna's move through in the fall. Occasionally, they are now spending the winter in places like Spokane...and now, maybe even, Colville! It is thought that these new visitors are from the coast and move into the Cascades and interior British Columbia mountains in summer, and then pass south through the inland northwest. But some are not continuing their migration and are taking up residence in our neck of the woods.
As I sat in the porch chair the Anna's returned regularly to continue feeding, each time spending a little longer at the feeder, even perching for a minute at a time. Her discomfort level with my presence was balanced with her need to refuel and survive. It was time for me to move on and let her be. This was a life bird for me, an unopened Christmas present that was almost overlooked. But I must respect the cost and the giver and not overstay my welcome.
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| Anna's Hummingbird perched at feeder, December 26, 2020, Colville, WA |
I hope your winter birding is as fun and refreshing as mine has been. The year 2020 has been fraught with stress and uncertainty. I am so glad the birds don't care about all that. I'm glad they let us peak into their lives and remember there is life, and it must be lived.
Merry Christmas to you, and a joy-filled and peaceful New Year in 2021.
Good Birding,
- Hawkeye
