July 31st, 2019: A rare lifer in Richmond
I got a tip from a friend that a Black-chinned Hummingbird had shown up at Richmond Nature Park this morning. This is not the kind of bird that waits around, so I said “goodbye” to my work plans for the morning, grabbed my bike, and headed to Richmond. It’s a quick trip from downtown along the Skytrain’s Canada Line. Then a relatively short bike ride along Westminster Highway (complete with bike lane).
Richmond Nature Park is a great spot to have a walk through the trees on any of several trails. There are also many feeders set up around the interpretive center, including 3 hummingbird feeders.
A few years ago, there was a “Black-chinned Hummingbird” seen at the feeders. But after many people went to see the bird (myself including), it was discovered to be a Black-shinned/Anna’s Hummingbird hybrid. This time around, when I got the tip, I made sure to ask (a little sarcastically) if it was a “real” Black-chinned…
I arrived to find (unsurprisingly) a group of 10 or so birders I knew pretty well, but whom I hadn’t seen in a while (having been mostly living in the U.S. for the past two years). They’d been patiently waiting for a while by then and the bird hadn’t returned since it was first seen several hours before.
Evidently, my timing was good. After spending less than half an hour getting caught up with a few old friends, the Black-chinned Hummingbird showed up at the same feeder!
He stuck around for only about 30 seconds–jockeying for position on the feeder with a wasp–and went off on his merry way. To my knowledge, he was not seen again after that. It’s not everyday you get to see a life bird in Metro Vancouver, let alone one as stunning as this male Black-chinned Hummingbird.
With the global breeding population estimated around 5 million, only 1% of this species is known to breed in Canada. 86% spend some of their time in the U.S. and 100% of them are in Mexico for much of the year. Their normal range extends from central Mexico, widening through the American southwest, and a sliver crossing into some of the drier inland parts of southernmost B.C. So yeah, it was nice to see one in Vancouver!
I took a few minutes to walk around some of the trails and where–among other things–I was happy to find several Anna’s and Rufous Hummingbirds, Common Yellowthroat, Black-headed Grosbeak, and a few Vaux’s Swift (eBird list). Then it was time for a quick bike ride and some transit, and back to work!