Actually we were wondering why we hadn't heard any diving around our house
yet this fall. Juveniles do it for kicks (I suppose they have extra
hormones...), others to intimidate invaders (I've been dived on), and
courtship should be getting started about now. My understanding is that
mating for Anna's is October through September.

chuck reinsch, magnolia, seattle, wa, (creinsch at humbirds.org)

----- Original Message -----
From: <marksullivanlaw at earthlink.net>
To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 9:41 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's J-dive


> Yesterday we saw a male Anna's Hummingbird at North Head Lighthouse (mouth
> of the Columbia) perched on a bush. After watching him for a minute, he
> flew 20 feet up into the air and started doing J-dives, about six or
> eight, each with the characteristic squeek at the end. The weather was
> mild, but this is November. I thought that this was only a courting
> display. Would he be romancing a female at this time of year? There was a
> female nearby that we briefly observed. Is there another reason that he
> would be putting on this performance? Do any hummingbird experts in
> Tweeterland have any insight on this?
>
> Mark Sullivan
> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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