since loupy asked

[terryger]

how close i coul get to the hummers i thought i would try soemthing i have seen others do.

that is my wife's arm

[Speed]

Now we know!

And I'm impressed.

[paulnj]

I have seen that before with my own eyes. It's amazing how birds know who they can trust after awhile.

[dadas115]

So is that a Black-chinned???

Greg

[terryger]

no, that would be a female anna's. this would be a female black chin.

[dadas115]

I agree that your second picture is a Black-chinned but those wingtips look aweful bulbous for an Anna's on the first image. What field marks did you use to ID distinguish this from a BC? I am trying to brush up for an upcoming trip to AZ.

Greg

[terryger]

had you seen the first image in its 8.2 meg glory instead of the compressed net version it would be much clearer.

the anna's is larger than the black chin, quite noticeably. the anna resembles your thumb in size as opposed to the blackchin being closer to the size of your little finger.

the bc has a clear white throat and the anna has a speckled gorget that even exudes minor specs of color on occasion.

the allens, rufus, and broadtail females resemble each other more as all are similar size and carry rufus markings. the difference is virtually indistiguishable. you need to be aware of migration patterns and very good lighting, and an excellent view to really know which you are seeing.

allens feamle, almost identical to rufus but wrong time of year here. notice the rufus sides.



annas female. speckled throat but no rufus sides.



also see the picture in hummer delights of the bird sitting on feeder staring at the camera and showing small red and gold specs on throat . that is the color you may see on a anna feamle in the right light.

[dadas115]

Size is fairly difficult to gage in the photo.

The throat on the original picture that I commented on looks very clear to me. Also my interpretation of the picture is that the bird does not have the complete upper white eye-ring that I would expect from an Anna’s but appears to only have the white behind the eye.

I am still pretty convinced that your first bird is indeed a female Black-chinned but I am still not a hummingbird expert. The wing-tip really does not look right for an Anna’s on that bird.

Thanks for your comments.

Greg

[terryger]

how about now?



size will not be a problem in real life. when you see them next to each other you can tell without a picture.

btw, what you think may be rufus fringes in this picture is really lighting and graininess from tight crop.

you're gonna have to trust me on this.

the wingtip is a poor way to identify a hummer other than its realationship in length top the tail while resting. you will learn to use more color and marking visual references when you look at enough of them.


not sure where you read about "complete uppper white eye ring" but anna's have a white stripe from eye to neck. you can se it in these males and though the females have the same it is hardly noticeable except in the right light. usually only see the white by the eye which could be confused with bc but size will be a tell tale sign.




i will be excited to see what you get in arizona. supposed to be "the place"!

[dadas115]

The spots don't look all that much like the ones I have been seeing in the field guides but since you are in CA I guess Anna's would be the most common to find (sort of like our Ruby-throats here). In that picture the eye-ring also looks very Black-chinned to me (just white behind the eye).

I guess those females are tough to tell.

Greg

[terryger]

you have no idea how hard it is.

you also have to take into account that hummer females are like human females.

though the old stereotype joke about all asians looking the same, when you are surounded by as many different nationalitoes as we have incalifornia it becomes very easy to immediately identify, chinese, japanese, hmong, viet-namese, korean, phillipino or thai ladies, all of which i find extremely and delicately beautiful.

as with ladies and hummers you also have hybrids.

just as every beautiful lady does not have the exact features of another, hummers are the same.

field guides should be used as "just guides"
and seldom do they show any hybrids.

some say there are over 300 distinctively different species of hummers, yet you would be hard pressed to find a guide with more than 8 or 10 species pictured.

and if you haven't learned to take bird experts with a grain of salt you better start. :thumbsup:

[Loupey]

Wow! That IS close!

Thanks for the great info and images. These little guys are wonderful to watch - very addictive I would say

[c.j.]

I am trying to brush up for an upcoming trip to AZ.

Greg

When in AZ, feel free to stop by our place and check out our hummingbird population.

An ornithologist friend, (Dr. Dale Zimmerman) and several of his associates estimated that we have several hundred individuals, here. Activity is rapidly increasing as the fall migration approaches. We currently have eight feeders and the competition is fierce at each one.

Currently 'in stock': Anna's, Black-Chinned, Broad-Billed, Broad-Tailed, Costa's, Allen's (just arriving). Female Violet-Crowned showed up here a couple weeks ago, (I got an 'id shot, verified by my Audobon contacts)

Rufous should be through, real soon.

We have seen Blue-Throated and Magnificent here, as well, just not daily visitors.

Let me know when (if) you'll be near Tucson. You're welcome to come look around.

[terryger]

as i happens cj, my wife and i are planning a fall excursion to arizona to visit my sister and look at some dogs i may be intereted in purchasing. i know it is releatively close but how far exactly are you from the phoenix -scottsdale area?

and also if i could be presumptuous enough to wangle an invitation for us to photograph your hummers

[c.j.]

as i happens cj, my wife and i are planning a fall excursion to arizona to visit my sister and look at some dogs i may be intereted in purchasing. i know it is releatively close but how far exactly are you from the phoenix -scottsdale area?

and also if i could be presumptuous enough to wangle an invitation for us to photograph your hummers

I'm 97 miles from Phoenix.

You can come by, but, there are conditions:

No dogs (unless certified service dog)

I run a homestay "B&B" style biz, fall through spring, as well as MTB rentals and tours. Visits are dependent upon biz. Give me a good 'heads-up'.

wowarizona.com is my place…



here's a few quick snaps from today.

[terryger]

outstanding. if you could, pm me with your b&b details. and THANX!

great captures . looking forward to the hummer activity and meeting those that appreciate them as we do!:thumbsup:

[quetzal]

Wow these are great images. I just got some pics the other day of the hummer that comes to my yard but mine aren't near as good as these all are.