ssb@lanl.gov (Susan S Bunker) (08/07/90)
Here in Northern New Mexico at an elevation of 7300 feet, we have two abundant hummingbird species. The broadtails arrive around tax time. I saw my first on April 21st this year. The Rufous arrives on the Fourth of July give or take a few days (last year it was July 2, this year July 3). Could it be that Greg, in the foothills of the Sierras, is seeing migration to lower altitude rather than lower latitude? Has the weather in the Sierras been unusual this summer?
grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/09/90)
In article <59389@lanl.gov> ssb@lanl.gov (Susan S Bunker) writes: > > Here in Northern New Mexico at an elevation of 7300 feet, > we have two abundant hummingbird species. The broadtails > arrive around tax time. I saw my first on April 21st this > year. The Rufous arrives on the Fourth of July give or > take a few days (last year it was July 2, this year July 3). > Could it be that Greg, in the foothills of the Sierras, is > seeing migration to lower altitude rather than lower > latitude? Has the weather in the Sierras been unusual this > summer? No, the Rufous does not occur around here except in migration. When migrating southward, they often move to even the highest mountain peaks and use the mea- dows. Southbound movement occurs during July and August, so I would be seeing an early-to-mid migration southbound bird. BTW, it was not around this morning, so it's possible that it left. There is still the question of whether it was a Rufous or an Allen's -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com