K&B tonite
Why do I wait til the last minute to put stuff in the greenhouse? Back to
work!!!
Arghh!!! Looks like my hummer flowers are going to suffer bad late this week.
From: missbird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:missbird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Jason Hoeksema
Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2016 10:47 AM
To: MISSBIRD <missbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [missbird] winter hummingbirds in Mississippi
Missbirders:
Many of you know these things already, but this is my annual note about winter
hummingbirds in Mississippi. Three key points:
1. Did you know that it's worth keeping a fresh hummingbird feeder up through
the winter? Yes, most hummingbirds have left our area, but a small number spend
the winter. If you have a feeder ready, they may grace your yard, if you're
lucky.
2. Wintering hummingbirds in Mississippi are often NOT Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds. Frequently, they are Rufous, Black-chinned, or another western
species. Don't just assume they are Ruby-throated. It can be difficult to
distinguish similar species from each other.
3. If you attract one or more winter hummingbirds to your yard, other birders
and scientists would love to know! Any wintering hummingbird is notable enough
to post on missbird, and/or the Southern Birding Facebook page--please consider
it! If you're not sure about posting publicly, you could start by letting
someone from the Mississippi Bird Records Committee (like myself or Gene
Knight) know about it. If you want help identifying your mystery bird, someone
will be happy to visit your house to take photographs and document it. Another
option is to have a hummingbird bander capture your bird, measure it, and put a
numbered band on it, so that it can potentially provide valuable data for
hummingbird biology. I'm happy to help, if you're interested, as are others. We
hope to hear from you!
Good birding,
Jason Hoeksema
Oxford, MS
--
Dr. Jason D. Hoeksema, Associate Professor
Department of Biology
University of Mississippi
phone: 662-915-1275
lab website <http://www.olemiss.edu/hoeksemalab/index.html>
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