[birdky] Re: Hummers
- From: Chad Wilson <chadwilson25@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: markmonroe1@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:04:12 -0500
I saw my last hummer last year on October the 17th. It was a lone female
that had been visiting alone for nearly a week before she finally left. I
kept watching the feeder for the next two weeks with no activity so sadly I
went ahead and took it down.
I am always glad that fall is coming because I need a break from the bugs
and heat but I sure do hate seeing the hummers leave.
Chad Wilson
Bowling Green
On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 8:34 AM, Mark Monroe <markmonroe1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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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