If you put a hummingbird feeder out, chances are you’ll see one of the colourful birds because they were among the most exotic birds spotted during the annual Christmas Bird Count in the Tri-Cities.
“The star of the show was the Anna’s Hummingbirds — they are continuing to increase at a really fast rate,” said John Reynolds, who coordinated the count to collect data for the U.S. National Audubon Society.
As many of 64 of the brightly-plumed birds were spotted on Saturday, Dec. 16, a surprising number given winter’s chill.
“It’s amazing they can make ends meet with their energy budget this time of year,” said Reynolds, who explained that the birds will eat from feeders but also find insects and plants that still produce nectar this time of year.
One bird that seems to have struggled of late is the Red-breasted Sapsucker, which is distinguished by its bright red head and breast and the drumming sound it makes when it knocks its large beak against the trunk of a tree. It had a high mortality rate during last winter’s freeze up.
“It was probably so cold, the sap wells they were drilling into were freezing.”
Reynolds expects the birds to rebound in coming years.
In all, 85 observers in 18 teams identified 82 species and 11,585 individual birds.
“It was a lot of fun. People love the challenge of seeing and identifying as many birds as they can. It’s a fun way to get to know their local wildlife.”
Data collected is sent to the U.S. National Audubon Society, which stores and publicizes the information so researchers can keep track of bird populations.
