Before I get a nasty email from someone, and having been flamed out of
existence once before for a similar misunderstanding, allow me to offer
a quick clarification:
When I say "how arrogant of people," I am referring to mankind in
general, not to the poster or to any particular person's beliefs or
opinions.
Chris Sloan
Nashville, TN
-----Original Message-----
From: va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Chris Sloan
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 6:15 PM
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [va-bird] Re: Winter Hummingbirds
I could not disagree with this any more strongly. Based on
current knowledge, this is flat-out, absolutely dead wrong.
How arrogant of people to think that they can have such an
influence on nature. Hummingbirds will use feeders as a
convenient source of food if present, although in most
instances, EVEN IN WINTER, hummingbirds feed on insects as a
large portion of their diet. The fact is, when the instinct
kicks in, they will leave, regardless of whether they feeders
are out or not. If the feeder comes down, and the bird isn't
ready to leave, it will simply find an alternative source of
food in the area. Conversely, if the feeder is up, and it's
time to go, the bird is going to leave, regardless.
In particular, Rufous Hummingbirds, which arrive on their
breeding grounds in Alaska at times before the ice breaks,
are particularly well adapted to cold weather. Every year
here in TN we have several birds that survive throughout the
winter, weathering a week or more of sub-freezing
temperatures at a time. Others can adapt, too. For four
consecutive years, we had a female Callipe Hummingbird here
in Nashville from October through April - the majority of the
year - and I can assure you that it survived some days that
even a Massachussets resident would have found bitterly cold.
I am a licensed hummingbird bander, and I have spent a great
deal of time combatting this very myth. Please, please,
let's let it die here, at least as regards this list.
Chris Sloan
Nashville, TN
-----Original Message-----people's
From: va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Harry & ;
Melitta Glasgow
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 3:45 PM
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [va-bird] Winter Hummingbirds
I have permission of the author of this posting on the
Massachusetts version of va-bird to pass it along to our
subscribers. While winter in Virginia is nothing like it can
be in New England, the advice is still sound:
It is exciting that several western hummers are in the state,
but a note of
caution. Be sure to take your hummingbird feeders down as
October begins, mid
October AT THE LATEST if the weather remains good. A sad
pattern has occurred
all too frequently in MA, where the hosts of these hummers
keep waiting for
the birds to leave....and they don't. Before you know it, the
first frosts
have come, most of the flowers have died, insects are tough
to come by and
that hummer at your feeder is trapped there and will most
likely not survive.
Why these Selasphorus hummers don't move on while the
Ruby-throats do is not
clear. All I can say is that I have had to deal with several
very emotional
folks over the years, well meaning hummer hosts, who have had
to face the
fact that when they now take their feeders down (sometimes as
late as the end
of November and the bird is still there) chances are it will
not survive. It
has not been a pleasant situation. We are not an area like
the Gulf States
where we can expect to maintain hummer feeders outside year
round: it's not
going to work and despite your best intentions, you may in
fact be luring the
bird to it's demise..
Fish and Wildlife (state or national) will NOT issue any
permits to take
these birds into greenhouses. The justly famous Ruffy was/is
a special case
and she (Ruffy) illustrates the problem. Fish and Wildlife
folk obviously saw
this as a very slippery slope and are adamant about not
issuing anymore. I
can see their point, judging by Ruffy's behavior, before you
know it, there
would be a dozen Selasphorus spending winters every year in
greenhouses: a very UN-NATURAL state of affairs. After all,
you don't want to
keep Blackpolls indoors. You would rather see them migrating
and on their
way. There are folks who illegally net and keep these hummers
and my advice
is DON'T. Let the birds move on.
We are not sure what we are witnessing here: true natural
vagrancy or a
change in migration pattern aided by humans or a bit of both.
My intuition
says that small numbers of Selasphorus head east then south
every year, but
weirdly get way-layed by hummingbird feeders. For some damned
reason, many
(not all) stay.
So if you really care about the bird itself, take tons of
photos, and then
take your feeders down while the weather is still warm and
there are still
insects aplenty and lots of blooms for the little buggers to
nectar on en
route to their final winter destination. And that means pretty soon.
Harry Glasgow
aglasgow@xxxxxxx
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