Date: 11/13/12 11:55 am
From: Ron Gutberlet <rlgutberlet...>
Subject: [MDBirding] Out of Area: Anna's Hummingbird in Delaware


Hi Everyone,

I just got to some of this morning's emails and noticed that an Anna's
Hummingbird (first state record!) is coming to a feeder in Newark, DE.

I copied below the helpful post to Delaware Birding from Michael Moore.

Have fun,

Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD
<rlgutberlet...>


[de-birds] Newark Hummingbird is ANNA'S Delaware Birding
[<de-birds...>] on behalf of Michael Moore
[<mcmoore32...>] Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 7:14 AM To:
<de-birds...><https://webmail.salisbury.edu/owa/?ae=Item&t=IPM.Note&a=New&to=<de-birds...>&nm=<de-birds...>
Greetings,

Yesterday afternoon I received a call from Frank Rohrbacher who told me Andy
Ednie had just gone to see the Newark hummingbird and had concluded it was
Anna�s, a potential first state record. Frank asked me to check it out
since I was close by and had lived in Arizona for many years and have seen
many Anna�s. I went to see the bird myself and came to same conclusion. I
therefore sent the link to the photos to my friend Sheri Williamson in
Arizona who is the author of Peterson�s Field Guide to Hummingbirds. She
confirmed the ID as an Anna�s.

Here are the key points that favor Anna�s as opposed to Ruby-throated:

1) Large, stocky hummingbird with large head and thick neck (RTHU is
smaller, with smaller head)
2) Short, very straight bill (RTHU has longer, slightly decurved bill)
3) Gorget flashes orange-red in some lights, but in others it is a lovely
rose-pink (the latter color is pretty diagnostic for Anna�s)
4) Dingy gray underparts (RTHU should be whiter)
5) Very little, if any, projection of tail past wing tips (usually much
longer in RTHU)
6) Front two thirds of the crown is brownish gray (green in most RTHU)
7) Sharp, high pitched call notes (RTHU is lower and softer)

Another key point is the shape and size of the primaries. However, this
bird has molted some of its inner primaries and, perhaps as a result, does
not seem to be completely closing the wing most of the time. This makes
judging the width of the inner primaries difficult. The primaries that are
present appear broad and relatively blunt. I saw the wing completely folded
once and there was no abrupt change in the width of the inner and outer
primaries as would be expected in RTHU (however it can appear this way in
the partially folded wing).

Sheri writes: "You've got yourself a state record! Its molt is running well
behind most of the juvenile Anna's we see, but that could indicate a more
northerly point of origin. There seems to be too much white in the outer
rectrices for a juvenile male, but the gorget pattern suggests that it's
going to be very colorful if it's a female."

The bird is being seen at 257 Delaplane Ave in Newark. The homeowner�s
(Diane and Steve Freeberry) are birders and are very excited about this
bird. They have indicated that people are free to walk down their driveway
and look at the feeders behind their house (one on the lower deck, one on
the upper). They are having work done on the house, so please stay out of
the way of the contractors. There was a lot of noise and activity from the
contractors when I was there but the bird seems oblivious. It comes to the
feeders about every 15 min and often perches in the rose bush above the
lower feeder or in the large cedar at the bottom of the driveway.

Mike

Michael Moore
Newark, DE

Email: <mcmoore32...>

Websites:
Delmarva Odonates:
https://sites.google.com/a/udel.edu/deodes/<https://webmail.salisbury.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=cc3OBoidJ0yaWDgB4ZVilTvr1tpulc9IEaoxXsJCEYEFTb7OflEfn5-j6DCB9V1v3W0XnCgSq6Q.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fsites.google.com%2fa%2fudel.edu%2fdeodes%2f>
Voices of Delaware Birds:
https://sites.google.com/site/delawarebirdsongs/<https://webmail.salisbury.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=cc3OBoidJ0yaWDgB4ZVilTvr1tpulc9IEaoxXsJCEYEFTb7OflEfn5-j6DCB9V1v3W0XnCgSq6Q.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fsites.google.com%2fsite%2fdelawarebirdsongs%2f>
Birds of the Gilbert Water Ranch:
https://sites.google.com/site/birdsofthegilbertwaterranch/home<https://webmail.salisbury.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=cc3OBoidJ0yaWDgB4ZVilTvr1tpulc9IEaoxXsJCEYEFTb7OflEfn5-j6DCB9V1v3W0XnCgSq6Q.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fsites.google.com%2fsite%2fbirdsofthegilbertwaterranch%2fhome>
Arizona Field Ornithologists Photo Website:
http://www.azfo.org/gallery/1main/photos_recent.html<https://webmail.salisbury.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=cc3OBoidJ0yaWDgB4ZVilTvr1tpulc9IEaoxXsJCEYEFTb7OflEfn5-j6DCB9V1v3W0XnCgSq6Q.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.azfo.org%2fgallery%2f1main%2fphotos_recent.html>

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