Hybrid hummer in Alpine

Yesterday late afternoon, when it was too dark for decent photos, I took this photo of what I posted on ebird as an Anna's Hummingbird. It bothered me a little that there appeared to be a hint of rufous on the tail, but I dismissed it, since with a bright red throat patch, it had to be an Anna's. The appearance of rufous was just an artifact of light, or dingy feathers, or something, I assumed.

First thing this morning birders, Dania Sanchez & Greg Reynolds, showed up wanting to see an Anna's, having read my ebird report. They were doing a "Texas Big Year," and needed that species for their list.*

We searched diligently all over the property. After a while our Merlin Apps recorded what it ID'd as an Anna's. We concentrated our search at that location. Soon Dania located the source of the call notes, but I told her that couldn't be an Anna's because I saw rufous on it. Had to be a Broad-tailed or Rufous, I suggested.... or maybe insisted. And so it went like that repeatedly for nearly an hour. (We had to sort through other hummers too, such as Rufous, Black-chinned, and Ruby-throated, all chasing around inside the canopy of a large mulberry tree near the feeders.) It seems quite humorous now, but was frustrating at the time. Finally, when I couldn't locate what I considered to be an Anna's, I began questioning if this one could be a hybrid, so I texted their photos to expert Kelly Bryan.

 

Photo by Dania

Photo by Greg

I was relieved to leave the problem to Kelly. It was beyond my expertise. Soon he replied that it was indeed a hybrid Anna's x Rufous female. I don't know if Dania and Greg can count that in their official tally, or not, but it was an exciting find, nevertheless. 

Soon after they left, other birders showed up, and I assumed word had traveled fast. I took them to see the bird, although as it turned out, they hadn't known about it. Just a coincidence. Right place, right time. They got photos too. Late today I took another photo. I don't have the fancy camera equipment the others have, of course. It'd sure be cool if this hybrid sticks around for a month or so.

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* I believe their goal is 500 species, and I think the all time record is a few over that number. They're currently at around 475, with three months to go. I was so focused on finding them an Anna's that I didn't pay close attention to the stats. After leaving our ponds in town they headed to the oasis and picked up one they needed (Sage Thrasher). Probably got, or are getting, others also.

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