Rare Bird Report #: 50-B-06

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:

Anna's Hummingbird

HOW MANY:

one; adult female

REPORTER:

Stephen Augustine
747 Ponder Point Dr
Sandpoint, ID 83864
208-263-9798

REPORTER EMAIL:

jegadoss@yahoo.com

OTHER OBSERVERS:

Mike Haldeman from Coeur D'Alene came over and observed the bird on two different visits to the feeder on the afternoon of September 15th.

Email: tapaculo@adelphia.net
Phone: 208-818-7879

DATE REPORT PREPARED:

September 16, 2006

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:

September 12, 13, 14, 15

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:

747 Ponder Point Drive
Sandpoint, ID 83864
(Bonner County)

HABITAT:

Backyard

CONDITIONS:

Daytime temperatures of around 60 F. the bird was frequenting a feeder that's just outside my office window at a distance of about 25 feet. The bird was quite shy and kept to the shadows and within a bush.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:

No, not at all

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:

Yes, another day after the observation

WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:

The Sibley Guide to Birds published by the National Audubon Society

DESCRIPTION:

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae).

BEHAVIOR:

The bird has been coming to the feeder infrequently - every few hours or so for the past week or so that I have noticed. The vocalizations that I have heard are a "pik, pik" sound. It was obvious that it was a female hummingbird but I could not determine the exact species since I'm not a very experienced birder.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?

I was able to take several pictures of the bird and forwarded these on to Stacy Jon Peterson and Shirley Sturts. Stacy identified it as an adult female Anna's Hummingbird and subsequently Mike Haldeman also identified it as an Anna's Hummingbird after his field observation. Please refer to pictures uploaded to http://www.lalgudi.net/hummers for the pictures that I took. [Additional good quality photos available at link below -- Stacy]

HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?

Mike Haldeman pointed out characteristics such as the white band over the eye, lack of rufous coloring on the tail, red central throat patch, a fixed or straight posture when feeding, that pointed to this being an Anna's Hummingbird.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):

A casual interest only. I, personally, have not had much experience with distinguishing among the females of different species of hummingbirds.

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:

A casual birder only - mostly restricted to the birds that come to my backyard. I have had this casual interest for about seven years and would rate myself as a novice.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:

Photo: ------ Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5

[The 5 photos linked above were taken by Stephen Augustine's brother on 9/18/06. MANY additional lower quality photos by Stephen himself are available online at: http://lalgudi.net/hummers/