Bill Tice , as Pamela Johnson, has seen Anna's Hummingbirds become
resident at their east-slope Coast Range foothills location in the past decade.
That makes a data point in Polk and Yamhill County. My very similar location in
Washington County so far yields only negative data. I have also found them to
be remarkably sparse in the town of Banks, although they have been common in
Beaverton for a very long while. Banks is a rather sterile bedroom community
without many shrubs or trees. Bill's detection of an Anna's at Sugarloaf Mtn,
halfway to the coast reminds me of my first two winter hummingbirds in Oregon,
neither of which were associated with human dwellings.
The first was on the Bayocean Spit at Tillamook. That was the CBC,
probably 1976. There's the big island of trees, which is maybe a mile beyond
the gate and parking lot. Then there was one on the Yaquina Bay CBC, possibly
same year. There was snow on the ground, there was snow on the beach. It was
very sunny. The hummingbird was in the woods on the east side of town. Walking
distance to houses, but the bird was clearly quite happy in its natural
surroundings. This was 40 years ago. So although the human environment has
surely benefitted Anna's Hummingbirds, it isn't obligate to their range
expansion. I believe some survived in Bend the winter before last when it was
sub-zero the first week of December. I imagine that wasn't possible without
human assistance, but they are certainly hardy. Lars
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