FreeLists / bristol-birds / [bristol-birds] Rufous Hummer at Elizabethton TN

[Wallace Coffey <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Birders:

I have finally tracked down the fellow who is hosting
a wintering hummingbird.

His name is Carroll Mottern of Elizabethton, TN.  He
lives at 115 Reynolds Road in Carter County.  
Reynolds Road is the route that turns off the old
U.S. 19 (Bristol Highway) and runs downhill past
the famous Slagle's Pasture Blue Grass stage.

Carroll told me Sunday afternoon (2/17) that the
bird has been coming to his yard since early fall
2001 and he has thought all along that it was a
female Ruby-throated.  He had taken down his
hummer feeders last fall when he noticed a hummer
still zipping around his yard so he put a feeder back
out.

The bird has been with him all winter and he thought
it had lost its ability to navigate.

He was surprised to learn that it is apparently a
female Rufous (either immature or adult).  Carroll
said he knew what a Rufous was because he has
a book on hummingbird but didn't know that any
other species occurs in this region.

The bird has a light colored breast with no
rufous coloring, no white spot behind the eye,
what appears to be a white ring-like mark around
the neck and a greenish-brownish colored back.
He thought the bill was a little longer than the
typical Ruby-throated.  He has a telephoto
lens and has made photos through the window.
The feeder is 15 feet away from the window in
a tree and he says the photos are not good.

We learned of this bird when Betty Poole at
Bristol, Virginia, who has been hosting two
Rufous hummers this winter, heard a caller
on John Quaintance's WJCW talk show being
asked how his hummingbird is doing.  She did
not know the name of the caller but thought he
must be somewhere in Carter County.

I know John Quaintance's wife and manage to
call her at work and then get in touch with John.
He helpled me with more information and birder
Bryan Stevens spent a couple of days tracking
getting a phone number which got me to
Carroll Mottern.

Bryan, thanks for your good help. 

Wallace Coffey
Bristol




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