[Tweeters] Black-chinned Hummingbird

[Stephen Chase]

Hi Diane,

Two weeks ago I had a hummingbird at my feeder with a unique chipping
sound. It took off quickly, but I hung out around the feeder and within 20
minutes, it was back. I got a brief look at it from a tough angle, and in
the low light, the iridescent chin sure looked violet, even a bit blue!
Again the bird took off, but I was pretty much glued to the feeder at that
point with camera in hand, waiting for my county lifer, yard bird, code 5
Black-chinned Hummingbird! While waiting, I began to do some research. I
knew Black-chinned do (very) occasionally show up in Western Washington,
but I wondered if a March sighting was possible. The research turned out to
be pretty conclusive, and pretty much killed my confidence in what I
thought I had seen. Here's a live map
<https://ebird.org/map/bkchum?neg=true&env.minX=-124.95535708684031&env.minY=47.21392676127779&env.maxX=-117.92410708684031&env.maxY=49.43415597992915&zh=true&gp=true&ev=Z&excludeExX=false&excludeExAll=false&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=cur>
of 2023 sightings; at this moment, there are no 2023 records north of
central California. Two weeks ago the northernmost record was even further
south. While waiting, I realized that while I wouldn't say that it was
impossible that I had seen a Black-chinned. But I also began to understand
how significantly the odds were stacked against it, and how much of a
burden of proof I would have to have to be able to convince a rare bird
reviewer or committee of what I claimed to have seen. I suppose your
neighbor would be in the same situation.

The hummingbird did return, and I got a great look at it. It was an Anna's
Hummingbird - a different individual than I normally get, but an Anna's no
less. It's actually still around, as I can ID it individually by its unique
call. No new yard bird that day, but it was fun to learn anyway!

All the best,
Stephen



On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 1:30 PM Diane Bachen <dianebachen at comcast.net>
wrote:


> I live in Bellingham, half way between the city limits and Lynden.  My

> neighbor feeds hummingbirds and said that he had what he thought was a

> Black-chinned Hummingbird at his feeder. I haven’t been able to download

> his photo. Any reports of those birds this side of the mountains, this time

> of year. I haven’t seen any recent posts on eBird regarding this.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

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