36 Days with ANNA (Anna's Hummingbird, that is) Don Weidl

It was a beautiful warm Sunday morning at 1130 am on October 1, 2017; temperatures reached an unusual +21C later that day. I was enjoying a coffee on my deck in Broadview with a friend from White Rock B.C and my brother-in-law when I saw a hummingbird flitting beside some brightly coloured garden decorations on the side of my shed. Since the last female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was seen at my feeder on August 31, the sight of this hummingbird sparked a bit of interest in me, although my guests were not all that excited. I had not filled my hummingbird feeder for over a month; however, it still was hanging about 5 m from where we were sitting. The hummingbird made a beeline for the feeder where I saw a glint of a red speckled gorget. The bird then called, and I became even more excited because this call was not the familiar call of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The bird then flew away, and I was left wondering what species of hummingbird this was. Once my guests left, I quickly refilled my hummingbird feeder, grabbed my camera, and waited patiently, and hopefully for the hummingbird to return. At approximately 1:15 the hummingbird returned, and I was able to snap a couple of very poor photos before the bird again flew away. A quick review of the photos made me wonder if this bird could be a female Anna’s Hummingbird, a bird I had seen several times in Arizona. At 2:30 the hummingbird returned to the feeder, and I was able to obtain some better photos that I immediately sent to some of my birder friends to see if I could get confirmation on the identification. My good friend, Guy Wapple, forwarded the photos to Sheri Williamson, a well-known hummingbird expert, who confirmed that this bird was indeed an adult female Anna’s Hummingbird. This would be only the third siting of an Anna’s Hummingbird reported in Saskatchewan. Little did I know that the next 36 days would be a roller coaster of emotions and highs and lows for myself as well as my neighbour. October 2: Checked the feeder regularly throughout the day; however, the hummingbird was not seen. Maybe this was just a one-day visit. October 3: No sign of the hummingbird. On October 2, I had told my neighbour, who also feeds Ruby-throated Hummingbirds throughout the summer months, about the Anna’s siting. She had put up her feeder again and when I talked to her later in the day, she said she had a hummingbird at her feeder at 1030 that morning. The Anna’s was back. At 3:00 pm the bird was at my feeder and was observed by visitors from Regina (Dan and Bob). October 4: No sign of hummingbird at my feeder. October 5: 1200 pm; Anna’s at my feeder. October 6: 7:15 am; Anna’s at neighbour’s feeder, temperature 0C. The bird was seen again by visiting birders (Vicki and Warren) at 4:40 pm and again at my feeder at 6:30 pm. October 7 & 8: no hummingbird seen; has it moved on? October 9 1145 am: Anna’s seen at neighbour's feeder by visiting birder (Ryan) and myself. October 10 1250 am: Anna’s seen at neighbour’s feeder by visiting birder (Kim). October 11 3:05 pm: Anna’s seen “hawking” insects from a spruce tree near neighbour’s feeder. It then took a long drink from feeder at 3:10 pm. October 12: No hummingbird siting. October 13 7:00 am: temperature -5C, no hummingbird siting; with cooler temperatures, maybe the bird has finally moved on. 1:24 pm: Anna's at my feeder; gave a couple of “chip” calls and flew to northwest, towards my neighbour's. 3:07 pm: Anna’s at feeder. I took my feeder inside for the night, as temperatures were forecast to be well below freezing. October 14 7:00 am: I put the feeder back outside and patiently waited in my warm vehicle near the feeder. 7:12 am: -9C, Anna’s at feeder; returned at 7:24 am and 1120 am for a long drink. October 15 -7C, 7:12 am: Anna’s at feeder and back again at 7:16 am; flew to nearby crab apple tree and roosted. Back at feeder again at 8:25 am and seen at neighbours feeder at 1132 am. October 16 7:10 am: +2C, Anna's at feeder. 7:17 am back briefly and then returned to nearby spruce tree where it was very vocal, making several “chip” calls. The bird fed again at 7:20 am and 7:21 am. At 7:30 am Anna’s drank water from my bird fountain, which had not frozen overnight. October 17 -2C, 7:19 am: Anna’s at feeder and back again at 7:21 am. October 18 7:10 am: very windy, +4C no Anna’s. October 19 7:11 am: Anna's at feeder and back again at 7:16 am and 12:53 am. At 4:15 pm Anna's at feeder for a long drink and seen again at 5:30 pm. October 20 7:00 am: No Anna’s seen. October 21: No Anna’s seen. October 22 7:49 am: -2C, Anna's at feeder. October 23 7:07 am: +1C, Anna’s at feeder and returned at 7:18 am. October 24 6:00 am: -5.2C; put feeder outside and I sat patiently in my vehicle. 7:11 am Anna's at feeder. At 8:12 am, the bird returned but seemed to have trouble feeding, I checked the feeder, and the holes were frozen. I am now keeping a spare feeder in the house and switching the feeders as the fluid becomes frozen approximately every 3 hours. The bird was seen at the feeder at 1:48 am, 2:57 pm and at 4:01 pm. October 25 7:34 am: 0C Anna's at feeder and remained perched at feeder for most of the day. October 26.7:10 am: -3.4C, light snow with wind chill of -11C; Anna’s at feeder and returned at 7:49 am and 8:23 am. At 8:30 am the bird fed again; however, the feeder was freezing quickly. At 9:06 am I| put a trouble light under the feeder to keep the feeder from freezing and the bird returned to feed at 9:30 am. The bird was seen feeding at neighbour’s feeder at 10:22 am; -3C. 4:00 pm, birders from Vancouver observed Anna’s at neighbour's feeder. October 27 7:18 am: I heard the Anna’s “chipping” from the spruce tree near my feeder; it came to feed at 7:21 am and again at 7:34 am and 9:39 am. October 28 7:00 am: temperature -6C; Anna's at feeder 7:17 am, 7:27 am, 7:32am, and 8:17 am at the neighbour's where a visiting birder from Regina (Laurie) saw the bird. October 29 7:30 am: +3C No Anna’s seen. October 30 7:20 am: -6C, heard Anna's calling from spruce tree 20 m to west of feeder and it soon came for a long drink at the feeder. October 31 7:00 am: -7C, Anna’s heard calling from a pine tree near the feeder; feed at feeder 7:46 am, 9:20am and 9:38 am at which time the feeder was frozen and replaced with a warm feeder; -4C. Anna's seen at feeder at 1:25 pm. November 1 6:45 am: feeder put outside, -6C. 7:50am heard the hummingbird calling from the pine tree; however, the feeder was frozen; switched feeder and the bird fed; -7C, light snow. Anna's was seen perched in the pine tree at 10:40 am and came to feeder at 12:42 pm, 0C; and again at 3:39 pm, -3C. November 2 8:45 am: Anna's seen at neighbour’s feeder and at 8:55 am in the pine tree near my feeder. November 3 8:15 am: -6C light snow, Anna’s at neighbour’s feeder. November 4 6:30am: -7C put feeder out, 12cm of fresh snow; Anna's at feeder at 7:41am. Seen again at neighbour's feeder at 8:21am and heard at neighbour's at 10:57 am. At my feeder at 12:15pm, -2.4C, 1231pm, 1:16pm and 4:28pm, -6C. Temperatures did not rise above freezing all day. November 5 7:15 am: -11C windy; I know hummingbirds go into torpor during cold nights, but how can this bird survive these frigid temperatures? However, the Anna's was at the feeder at 7:37am and perched in pine tree at 7:43 am. At 8:18 am the feeder was frozen and the Anna's was heard 'chipping'; I changed out the feeder. 1134 am, -13, windy, Anna's at the feeder 1:27pm, then, for the first time, flew south of the feeder; at feeder again 2:14pm and 4:30pm. November 6th 7:15 am: -14C; put out feeder. The feeder was frozen at 8:42am, so changed feeder. However, the Anna's was not seen at my feeder or the neighbour's feeder. Has the bird finally succumbed to the cold temperatures? I spent most of the day searching for the bird's remains beneath its favourite perches; however, there was no sign of the little body. It was highly unlikely that the bird flew away. Where would it go? I am doubtful that there are any feeders within a day's flight from Broadview. November 7th: -17C; no sign of the Anna's. A sad day, as my neighbour and I decided not to put the feeders out anymore. We were convinced the bird is dead. In Birds of Saskatchewan (2019), Ross Dickson relates the story of Saskatchewan's second Anna's Hummingbird record. A male was observed and later captured at a feeder near Springside in October 1997. On October 10th, the bird was flown to Vancouver, where it died on October 11. Of interest, the Broadview Anna's hummingbird siting was not the first time I had dealt with a "late" hummingbird in Saskatchewan. On October 7, 1997, I was informed of a hummingbird at a feeder on a farmyard south of Birch Hills. The bird was later identified as a female Rufous Hummingbird. As with the Anna’s, below freezing temperatures required the landowner to take the feeder inside overnight to keep it from freezing. On October 13, the landowner captured the bird, and it was taken to a greenhouse near Meath Park where it survived until January 27, 1998. One of the biggest misconceptions about hummingbirds held by the public is the belief that if you do not take hummingbird feeders down at a certain time in the fall, you will prevent the hummingbirds from migrating. This is not true (Donald and Lillian Stokes, The Hummingbird Book 1989). Nancy L. Newfield, in Don’t Take Down Your Feeder (Bird Watcher's Digest 1992) states that a hummingbird’s natural migratory instincts are too strong to be affected by the presence of a feeder. However, my neighbour and myself wondered what would have happened if the Anna’s Hummingbird had not stopped at my empty feeder on October 1. We feel very privileged to have had this intimate relationship with this bird and being able to share it with many birders. Note: During the fall of 2023, an Anna’s Hummingbird was observed and photographed at a feeder in Prince Albert.