My husband is a bird watcher. Definitely not a professional one and I wonB次元官网网址檛 even say an amateur one because itB次元官网网址檚 not like he takes binoculars on our hikes or sets his camera up at the marsh or anything. But he does get a kick out of spotting new birds and adding them to the list on his bird watching app. ItB次元官网网址檚 a harmless hobby and heB次元官网网址檇 probably be embarrassed if he knew I was telling you about it so please donB次元官网网址檛 tell him you know.
Anyway, when we moved to our new house a couple of years ago we were disappointed that no black-capped chickadees ever visited our yard. TheyB次元官网网址檙e my favourite. I grew up with them in the trees behind my childhood house and while they arenB次元官网网址檛 really all that special or unique, they just feel like home. Their absence was a blow to our bird watching fun. Well, mine anyway. My husband soldiered on.
He set up some feeders: a suet one and a seed one and a couple hummingbird feeders. Every now and then we see a neat bird but nothing too unusual.
That is until the other day.
My husband looked out the back window and saw a one-in-a-million hummingbird.
Literally.
I asked the .
Kenn Kaufman, AudubonB次元官网网址檚 field editor said that from the photos I sent, he couldnB次元官网网址檛 be positive but he thinks thereB次元官网网址檚 a good chance itB次元官网网址檚 an AnnaB次元官网网址檚 hummingbird.
(That was my husbandB次元官网网址檚 assessment also. Maybe he is an amateur after all?)
B次元官网网址淚t looks to be the right shape, and that would be a common species around Duncan and elsewhere on southern Vancouver Island,B次元官网网址� Kaufman said.
But itB次元官网网址檚 not your usual AnnaB次元官网网址檚. We see those all the time and we donB次元官网网址檛 all race to the window B次元官网网址� unlike when we spot this one.
This is a white one.
B次元官网网址淭rue albino hummingbirds are extremely rare, and very seldom documented in the wild,B次元官网网址� Kaufman noted. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檇 be recognized by pure white feathers and pink eyes, feet, and bill. The bird in the photos looks like itB次元官网网址檚 a leucistic individual instead B次元官网网址� lacking most, but not all, of the melanin pigment in the feathers.B次元官网网址�
But hereB次元官网网址檚 the thing: leucistic hummingbirds are rare, too!
B次元官网网址淲hite hummingbirds are so stunning that when one is seen, it usually makes the news,B次元官网网址� Kaufman said. B次元官网网址淪o we know that a very few white hummingbirds are reported practically every year, somewhere in North America. But I would guess that they make up only about one in a million individuals among the hummingbird population at large.B次元官网网址�
How about that?! In my own backyard.
The Audubon SocietyB次元官网网址檚 media guy, Nicholas Gonzalez, sent me a link to their website featuring a written about another leucistic AnnaB次元官网网址檚 hummingbird spotted in California last year. Does that mean it could very well be ours (weB次元官网网址檝e named it Lucy, although it could be male) is the first sighting of one this year?
So all this time IB次元官网网址檝e been looking for good news stories out there in the community. But really all I needed to do is check out my own backyard.
