A hummingbird was spotted at a private residence late yesterday evening. Usually, a hummingbird this late is a rare vagrant and this one happened to be an Anna’s Hummingbird! I was invited over by the resident, to view and photograph the hummingbird. I was there for almost two hours, and it showed three times. The first appearance was brief, and it was very curious of me. I moved away from the flowers and further into the backyard. The second appearance was a little longer and it went down to feed on the Cuphea flower. It stayed on the backside of the flower and did not provide any viewing for us. After 30 seconds or so, it flew up into the evergreen and then flew away. About a half hour later, I noticed it fly up into the apple tree to the north and then it disappeared behind the arborvitaes. It popped out right next to us, only maybe 7′ feet away! It hovered near us for a few seconds and then went back to the Cuphea. It feed on the flower for quite some time and provided excellent looks, in perfect sunlight! A very chilly afternoon, especially since I just spent the last two weeks in Hawaii. Hopefully this little guy can stay warm enough to continue his journey south. A big thank you for the invitation to come over and try for this bird! Photos below are from Monday afternoon, 10/30/23. Enjoy!
Here is a link the see the last Anna’s Hummingbird to pass through Milwaukee County (2016) in Wauwatosa.
