[birdky] Re: Hummers
- From: Mark Monroe <markmonroe1@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:34:40 -0400
Most people will see their last Ruby-throateds here in Kentucky
somewhere around October 15. There are always some stragglers that
are reported up until the first week of November though. However, it
is a myth that leaving feeders up can cause birds to stay too long and
in fact keeping up a feeder year round greatly increases one's chances
of hosting a rare hummingbird, such as a Rufous.
Personally, I recommend keeping one year round, but if someone chooses
to do so, they have to be prepared to keep it from freezing in the
winter if they do host a wintering bird. If this isn't for you, then
sometime between October 15 and Nov 1 should be late enough to give
most of the late stragglers a boost on their way south. It should be
readily apparent if you don't have a bird regularly coming in by then
with only brief visits from late migrants. Any hummingbird seen after
November 1 should be closely looked at as the odds of it being
something other than Ruby-throated go up greatly.
As for the dark throat of your friend's bird, that is an optical
illusion. The 'ruby' throat is a structural color (not a true
pigment) that can only be seen in the proper lighting. It appears
black when it isn't.
Mark
Mark Monroe
Louisville, KY
On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 8:34 AM, Debi <debi1950@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> I have been given several diffferent opinions about when we should take our
> hummingbird feeders down.
> Can someone give me an approximate date that we should?
> I was always told Sept 15th, then someone said they wait till Oct 1st to
> give those hummers from up north a chance to stop by and get some
> nourishment on their way south. That sounds logical.. any other ideas??
>
> I still have alot at my feeder for now. A friend of mine about a mile
> away, who knows her birds, told me that she had a male hummer that only had
> a black throat, not a bit of red on it. Is there another one around other
> than our Ruby Throated?
>
> Thanks..
> debi lucas
> Greenup Co.
>
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