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Fort Thomas hummingbird
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Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Debra Hausrath on October 31, 2009 at 09:27:14 |
| Okay. I finally got out of my jammies and went outside with the scope. I really think my bird is a Ruby-throated. Shortish bill; greenish head that contrasts well against the throat; distinct auricular; long pointed wings. But seriously, if anyone wants to take a look, feel free. The feeder is hanging off the porch at the end of the driveway, and the hedge around the air conditioners makes a great bird blind. |
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Debra Hausrath on November 3, 2009 at 16:48:56 |
| It's 4:45 PM. The bird just took a drink from the feeder. Saw it this morning before I left and yesterday, too. Any of you experts out there care to offer an explanation as to why this little critter isn't leaving? |
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Kathi Hutton on November 7, 2009 at 15:48:34 |
>>Any of you experts out there care to offer an explanation as to why this little critter isn't leaving? <<
1) Your good cooking?
2) Its GPS navigation system is on the fritz?
3) It's a male and it refuses to ask for directions?
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Debra Hausrath on November 7, 2009 at 17:34:49 |
| Brainard suggested it looks unhealthy. Was it the runt of the litter? Parasites? Perhaps just an elderly bird? I have noticed its wings droop considerably when it's feeding and the feathers around its neck area are ruffled. I, too, would like to hear more theories on why it's still here. Come on, Jay. I know you've got opinions. ;o) |
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Debra Hausrath on November 7, 2009 at 17:36:25 |
| And yes, Kathi, it must be the home brew. :) |
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Jay Stenger on November 8, 2009 at 06:04:35 |
Well Debra, you and Brainard pretty much summed up my opinion on the matter.
Poor health is probably the most common reason that individual birds linger well past the normal or expected fall departure date for their species (this is not usually the case for half-hardy species). Poor health could include disease, injury, undernourishment or just bad genetic wiring (i.e. screwed up big time). See Kathi’s point # 2. I don’t think it matters which one of these reasons is responsible for a bird’s poor health. Migration is tough on birds and takes a high toll every season. Look at the bright side; maybe your providing nourishment will help this bird make it to Mexico.
This is a good Ruby-throated Hummingbird record. Debra is a skilled birder and realized the oddity of the late date. She made a great effort to carefully ID the bird and ruled out other similar species. Apparently Brainard Palmer-Ball Jr. (an acknowledged authority on Kentucky’s birds) has seen pictures of the bird and agrees with Debra’s findings. It sounds like a solid ID on a difficult bird to identify.
That said, and realizing that almost all of us are fully aware of my next point (and the original point of this and the previous thread), I bring it up again in the interest of clarity. The first thing we birders have to do around these parts when seeing a fall hummingbird after mid-October, is consider the possibility of another species other than Ruby-throated. Some of these birds, under close scrutiny, will certainly be Ruby-throated Hummingbirds as is the case with Debra’s bird. But there are a few species of half-hardy hummingbirds that do just fine in some pretty cold temperatures (the Ruby-throated apparently does not), assuming a food source is present. The most likely candidate would be the Rufous Hummingbird, a rare, but expected late fall migrant throughout the eastern US. Other possibilities can’t be disregarded either, as the Anna’s Hummingbird that stayed at a West Chester feeder during November and all of December 2005 showed us. And while there are no Ohio records for another western species, the Black-chinned Hummingbird, there is a Kentucky record and photo of one from Nov-Dec 1998. Black-chinned Hummingbird is now considered a rare, but regular, winter visitor to the southeastern US, at least as far north as southern Tennessee and northern Georgia. The females and immature of this species are extremely similar to Ruby-throated and are a serious ID challenge.
Bruce Peterjohn’s “The Birds of Ohio” casts doubts on Ohio’s November and December Ruby-throated Hummingbird records and goes so far as to state “sight records during November and December require verification, since recent evidence indicates that these very late hummingbirds may be western strays rather than lingering Ruby-throateds.”
By the way Debra, if your Ruby-throated is still present today, Sunday November 8th, I think it will represent our local areas latest confirmed Ruby-throated Hummingbird record. But I think you still have a way to go to beat the Kentucky record. Speaking of Brainard, his book “The Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Kentucky” accepts at least two later Kentucky Ruby-throated records, one on November 18th 1983, and another on November 19th 1995. Let us know when your bird finally leaves.
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Debra Hausrath on November 9, 2009 at 19:21:43 |
| Nice take on the situation, Jay, and thanks for the nice words on my birding abilities. I'm adequate--that's it. :o) I saw the late dates for R-throats in Kentucky in "Annotated Birds of Kentucky." We shall see! |
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Debra Hausrath on November 13, 2009 at 09:12:42 |
| Final update: the bird disappeared sometime on Monday, Nov. 9th. We saw it about 8 AM at the feeder, and that was it. |
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Re: Fort Thomas hummingbird
posted by
Frank Renfrow on November 13, 2009 at 22:28:55 |
| It may well be this particular individual was not in the best of health, but there were also 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds still present in Michigan at least as late as November 3, so this bird may also be part of the general trend of later and later departures in fall and earlier and earlier arrivals in spring that seems to be coincident with our rapidly warming climate. |
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Comments? Suggestions?
Let me know!
Ned Keller, comments03@cincinnatibirds.com
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