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Calypte anna
Long slender beak.
Found in the foothills of Mt Diablo , Northern California
Very territorial. Likes to buzz over the head of a person. . photo credits Abhishek Parikh
I would like to invite you to post your spottings of hummingbirds in the new mission for Hummingbirds of the New World:
http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/1244...
:-)
Thanks Willie.
Also I feel that the nest in pic 2 is not a hummingbirds nest. i previously thought it was.I found one recently and I will upload the pics soon .
Very nice Emma, I can see that the Anna, and the Ruby-Throated are very similar. Thanks for sharing the link of yours, I will provide mine here so others can see the slight differences in appearance http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/114...
I have not seen this bird for nearly ten months. i am going to visit him soon. He lives in Maria's backyard.Hummingbirds live up to at least 3 years . Hopefully he is still alive.
I bookmarked Brandon's link. I read a lot, so I pass on what I've learned. Glad to help Emma.
@ heather thanks so much for all the feedback. I always learn so much from you!
@ Brandon ,thanks so much . I will update it as an Annas.
You gave us great tips on photographing hummingbirds and also great links on Iding hummingbirds. Really appreciate all your help.
Here is the conclusion I was able to draw.
Looking at the pictures here: http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/BTLH.ht...
The broad tailed hummingbirds red/purplish marking placement is what tells me that the one in the photo is not. The markings stay primarily under the chin while the green coloration covers the entire top of the head and cheeks.
The Anna's hummingbird appears to be the correct ID due to the way the red markings are not only below the chin, but also positioned behind the eyes, with the darker colored top of the head. The green breast markings are also an indicator. We can definitely rule out the Calliope as the shape of the neck feathers are a dead give away here.
:-) hope this information helps.
@ Brandon,this is what I feel. The placement of it's feathers while sitting at the feeder is very similar to a Broad tailed hummingbird. Otherwise it is very similar to an Annas.
this bird sits by the hour guarding the feeder.
I will do some more research tomorrow and see what I can find for ya. I have a few resources I did not go to yet. :-D
@ brandon and Heather so if you come up with something let me know. in the meantime i will continue with my research. Thanks!
You are very welcome!
I believe they may be moving on at this point, Ours have been gone for about a month now. First sign of cooler weather and they were on their way. We have several males and females that come back every year. the one male in the pics I have up here, is the dominant male, he even harasses the females when they come to feed. It's funny because after a little while, several of the females will come together and chase him off. So they can feed in peace. I have a video that I took at my dad's house with about fifteen females flying around trying to get the best spot on the feeders. will post it in a few minutes. Stay tuned. :-D
Brandon - thank you for the hummingbird photography advice. I haven't seen my Ruby-throated friends for almost a week. The feeders are still all full and I have neither seen, nor heard them. I was feeding them once a day and their noises were constant for about a month. Then gone.
Mine were dive bombing each other with one perching in sight of two feeders and flying into the direction of whichever feeder got a visitor. I'd see black and white tail feathers square out when they were posturing towards each other, then one would take off and the other would follow. I never got a decent shot of the black and white tail feathers. Maybe next year - if they've moved on for the season.
Emma, it very well could be, without a picture of it either flying or of it directly from the back it will be hard to tell. I am leaning more towards Anna's rather than the others. It also very well could be a hybrid, as it has several traits that match the broad tail as well as Anna's. I've been trying to find a genuine ID'd species with a pic of each of them in resting or perching positions to see how the wings lay when not in flight, as that could be a strong indicator of the exact species.
@ Brandon and Heather.the Broad tailed hummingbird is very similar to Annas and is also seen in North Western united states.