In the last few weeks, hundreds of people have traveled from Northern California, Arizona and everywhere else in between to scope out a quiet suburban neighborhood outside of Los Angeles.
They come bearing binoculars, telephoto lenses and a shared mission: To catch sight of “BB.”
A rare hummingbird has made its way in the yard of a home in Glendora, California and people want a peek.
“This is one that you don’t typically get to see in our area,” said Evelyn Serrano, director of the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Montecito Heights.
Joseph credits the fact that she and her husband have spent the past couple of years converting their yard into a paradise for pollinators. And while BB is definitely their most famous guest to date, she said they’ve enjoyed a steady parade of new visitors ever since they traded their thirsty lawn for drought-tolerant native plants.
With BB, Joseph said she heard the difference even before she could see it.
“We’ve gotten so many new different species of butterflies. We’ve had grasshoppers, which I hadn’t seen in years. I had praying mantises, which I had not ever had,” Joseph said. “And I have a plethora of birds in my yard all day long.”
As an amateur birder, Joseph noticed a bird humming an original tune, distinct from the familiar song she hears whenever Anna’s variety hummingbirds drop in for a visit, so she got out her binoculars to take a look.
The tiny bird had a bright red beak and, based on its coloring, it was very likely a male. So two weeks ago, she reported the sighting on eBird, a popular online database run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to investigate the bird further.
Someone from the lab got in touch with her, asking for pictures to verify the sighting. She loaded two photos on the site Feb. 11 and said people began reaching out to ask if they could come see the rare bird for themselves.
“It’s just been the nicest group of people,” Joseph said. “Someone left a whole thing of sugar on my porch to make more hummingbird food. A few people have left gift cards and thank you notes. They have just been so thrilled to see this bird.”
“They’ve been very respectful and very happy to see that I had transformed my yard, because it’s kind of like a little habitat.”
For more information on the rare hummingbird story, click on the link below.
Source: Pasadena Star News