I don't know if anyone could say with confidence just why the Anna's has
expanded its range from California to Washington in the last decades, but
I've heard the theory that the abundance of hummingbird feeders here in the
winter is a critical factor and I have accepted this as probable. Since
Anna's is not a migratory bird, less food may influence them to wander more
when it is not the nesting season, but wouldn't cause them to migrate per
say. The Rufus is migratory and I don't believe that the timing of
migration is determined by food supply so feeders would seem unlikely to
interfere with migration. I imagine that global warming may also be a
factor in the northward expansion of the Anna's hummingbird. While I don't
my observations are limited, I may have seen Annas doing more flycatching in
the winter than I note in the summer.

Just today I had a class of second graders at Camp Long in West Seattle that
got to observe the display flight of the Annas over the pond with the loud
"speeek" call. I believe that this display is territorial and it is
noteworthy that they would be territorial in the winter.

Also while doing pond classes today the handle of our large net that we
catch salamanders in the pond with broke. If anyone knows of one that might
be donated to Camp Long it would be much appreciated, or if someone thinks
they might be able to fix the broken aluminum handle. This heavy duty nylon
net with maybe 1/8" or 5 mm mesh and maybe 18" mouth and a 6' handle has
been a great tool to spread excitement about salamanders and nature. This
coming Valentines night we will have an evening program to watch the
Long-toed and Northwest Salamanders breed and it would be nice to have a
working net by then. A few years ago Feb 14th was the night chosen by the
Northwest Salamanders (Ambystoma gracile) for the main breeding night.

Stewart Wechsler
Ecological Consulting
West Seattle
206 932-7225
ecostewart at quidnunc.net

-Advice on the most site-appropriate native plants
and how to enhance habitat for the maximum diversity
of plants and animals
-Educational programs, nature walks and field trips
-Botanical Surveys


-----Original Message-----
From: Christine Southwick
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 2:12 PM
George,

The Anna's have expanded mostly due to the plants and their associated
nectar
and attracted bugs. Feeders will help the hummers that stay--they are not
the
cause of their staying. If that were true, then Rufus would stay also, and
they do not.

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