grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/07/90)
It seems I have a migrant already! This morning, one of the Selasphorus hummingbirds showed up at my feeder. I believe it is a rufous, but it's a female or young male, and I'm not sure yet. In the next few days, I hope to get a close enough look to determine, based on the outer tail feathers, but this is iffy. Anyway, there it was this morning, at the feeder, shooing away any of the Anna's that attempted to feed. I suspect that it is a young male, probably dispersing southward on a leisurly migration, and I also suspect that it's a rufous (as I said), because that would be much more likely in my area (Sierra foothills). It seemed pretty adamant about protecting it's newfound food supply, so I imagine it will stay around for a while. ***** On Friday, I managed to finally get some time off, and I went into the Sierra at Yuba Gap, and then down into the Sierra Valley. Yuba Gap is at about 8000 feet, and I managed to get some of the mountain species, including Mountain Quail (a lifer), White-headed Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, Cassin's Finch. Western Tanager. It was pretty quiet though, and I had a hard time finding birds; I guess it's the post-breeding lull. When I was through there, I headed down into the Sierra Valley, a flat plain maybe 10-15 miles across, in the middle of the mountains, and covered with Sagebrush. The first birds I saw there were a trio of Mountain Bluebirds, followed quickly by Sage Thrasher (another lifer). At a marshy area on Dyson Road, I found Yellow-headed blackbird, 2 American Bitterns, which "froze" right out in the open, a Virgina Rail, black-crowned night-heron and two trumpeting Sandhill Cranes. All in all, a pretty nice day, albeit not a very busy one. -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com
grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/07/90)
In article <GRP.90Aug6110114@magpie.unify.uucp> grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) writes: > It seems I have a migrant already! This morning, one of the Selasphorus > hummingbirds showed up at my feeder. I believe it is a rufous, but it's a > female or young male, and I'm not sure yet. In the next few days, I hope to > get a close enough look to determine, based on the outer tail feathers, but > this is iffy. > > Anyway, there it was this morning, at the feeder, shooing away any of the > Anna's that attempted to feed. I suspect that it is a young male, probably > dispersing southward on a leisurly migration, and I also suspect that it's a > rufous (as I said), because that would be much more likely in my area (Sierra > foothills). It seemed pretty adamant about protecting it's newfound food > supply, so I imagine it will stay around for a while. > > > -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com > > After doing a little further research, I have discovered that both Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds migrate in July and August, so the bird is not as early as I thought. Also, according to Arnold Small, Allen's will sometimes use mountain meadows in the Sierra for southbound migration. I still feel it's rufous, however I'm still not sure. -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com
mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (08/09/90)
In article <GRP.90Aug7095844@magpie.unify.uucp>, grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) writes: > > It seems I have a migrant already! This morning, one of the Selasphorus > hummingbirds showed up at my feeder. I believe it is a rufous, but it's a > female or young male, and I'm not sure yet. In the next few days, I hope to > get a close enough look to determine, based on the outer tail feathers, but > this is iffy. > > I suspect that it is a young male, probably > dispersing southward on a leisurly migration, and I also suspect that it's a > rufous (as I said), because that would be much more likely in my area (Sierra > foothills). > > After doing a little further research, I have discovered that both Rufous and > Allen's Hummingbirds migrate in July and August, so the bird is not as early > as I thought. Also, according to Arnold Small, Allen's will sometimes use > mountain meadows in the Sierra for southbound migration. I still feel it's > rufous, however I'm still not sure. I have banded both Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds, and the difference in the width of the outer tail feathers is measured in millimeters, with the threshold being about 3 mm. Another characteristic concerns rectrice two, the second one from the center. Rufous Hummers will have varying degrees of emargination on one or both sides of this feather, depending on age and sex. This emargination is virtually absent on Allen's. Both of these characteristics are darn near impossible to see in the field without having the bird in hand. Another problem with Rufous are the immature males. They generally acquire the bright orange gorget by the time of fall migration; September or so. The problem is that they won't go through their first full body molt until sometime prior to spring migration. During this time they will have a bright gorget with an all-green (juvenile plumage) back, looking for all the world like an Allen's male. The above mentioned tail feather characteristics are still applicable but, again, are difficult to see in the field except in the hand. I would suggest that the best way to get these guys on your life list is to go out and find males in the springtime. One problem is that both these species tend to be coastal at this time. Hope this helps. Mike
grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/09/90)
In article <GRP.90Aug7095844@magpie.unify.uucp>, grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) writes: > > > > It seems I have a migrant already! This morning, one of the Selasphorus > > hummingbirds showed up at my feeder. I believe it is a rufous, but it's a > > I have banded both Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds, and the > difference in the width of the outer tail feathers is measured in > millimeters, with the threshold being about 3 mm. Another characteristic > concerns rectrice two, the second one from the center. Rufous Hummers > will have varying degrees of emargination on one or both sides of this > feather, depending on age and sex. This emargination is virtually absent > on Allen's. Both of these characteristics are darn near impossible to > see in the field without having the bird in hand. Tell me about it! I have had the bird in my scope such that I could focus no closer, and I still can't discern the difference! I have given up and written it off as an unidentified Selasphorus. > > Another problem with Rufous are the immature males. They > generally acquire the bright orange gorget by the time of fall migration; > September or so. The problem is that they won't go through their first > full body molt until sometime prior to spring migration. During this > time they will have a bright gorget with an all-green (juvenile plumage) > back, looking for all the world like an Allen's male. The above > mentioned tail feather characteristics are still applicable but, again, > are difficult to see in the field except in the hand. As of yesterday, the first bird was not to be found, but an immature male something or other was present. It was just as you described, with an almost full gorget, a green back, and lot's of rufous in the tail and on the sides. A truly beautiful bird. At one point yesterday, I had six hummers around my feeder, two of the rufous type, the rest were all Anna's. One of Anna's was tangling with one of the rufoid birds, one Anna's was checking out my red shirt, and the rest of the birds were zooming to and fro, around the feeder and around me. It was neat! > > I would suggest that the best way to get these guys on your > life list is to go out and find males in the springtime. One problem > is that both these species tend to be coastal at this time. Hope this > helps. The Allen's I already have, and the Rufous, well, I am still waiting for a good male. Just a matter of time! > > Mike -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com