[bristol-birds] Kingsport hummer no Black-chinned

From: Wallace Coffey <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: 1-A Bristol-Birds <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 19:28:53 -0400
Bristol Area Birders:

        Those of you subscribed to TN-Bird may have
already read the report that the hummer in Kingsport
is not a Black-chinned.
        It was captured and banded today by Fred
Moore of the hummer study group of Alabama and
he was able to get measurements, weight, feather
samples, feather count in the gorget, and determine
that it is an immature Rufous Hummingbird.
        This is the second Sullivan County record.
There are several records for Northeast Tennessee
and Southwest Virginia.
        As reported earlier on Bristol Birds Net,
Joy Crass and her husband Mark,  were the
first to see the bird flash orange in the gorget.
        Bob Riggs and I went to see the bird on
Thursday.  We could see the orange. We were
at a loss as to what the bird could be.  I thought
the color could be more red.
        Moore has termed the color as being
"coppery red with some green sheen."
        A phone call to Bob Sargent at Trussville,
AL, did not help us be any more certain as to
what the bird was.  He tried to help as we
watched it from as close as two to three feet
through the window from inside the house.
        Sargent thought it would be best to capture
the bird in order to make sure all possibilities
were considered.  More came this morning
about 10:30 a.m.  he caught the bird in a
radio-controlled hummingbird trap with the
hummer feeder placed inside.  It was taken
as it entered to feed.
        Moore concluded it was an immature
female Rufous Hummingbird. 
        One of the interesting observations
today was that the apparent blunt to rounded
wing tip, that we believed we saw earlier
this week, was simply not present.
        Dave Worley, Riggs, Coffey and the
hummer hosts (Marilyn & Albert Walton, 1037
Catawba St.) were present for today's capture.
        Coffey and Moore then went to Bristol
Virginia to the home of Betty Poole at 41
Lincoln Road.  She has had a Rufous hummer
which has been at her feeder all winter.  It
was seen on our Bristol Christmas bird count.
We were there joined by Bert and Loraine
Hale.
        We spent more than an hour with the
hummer trap in place but the bird did not
show up.  Betty Poole reported four hours
later that the bird was not again seen in
or about the feeders during the remainder
of the afternoon.
        Moore studied photographs of the
Bristol Virginia bird which had been taken
in November, January and February.  He
said it is a Rufous hummer.  The fact that
there was no bird there for a period of
about 10 days in late January, he believes,
is not suggestive that the first bird left
and a second bird arrived.  We had earlier
thought that was would be the case.
        Later in the day, Moore and Coffey
went to Reynolds Road in Carter County
to capture and band the Rufous which
has been there all winter.
        There we found Don Holt waiting in
the yard for a look at the bird.  He had been
there about 30 minutes.  The trap was set
and the bird came to the trap about every
5 to 10 minutes for nearly 90 minutes 
but would not go near the trap.  
        We had concluded that we wouldn't
catch it when, just before 5 p.m., the bird
became very determined and search the
trap over looking for a way to get at the
feeder.  It soon found the opening, entered,
and the radio-controlled trigger was released,
dropping the door.  The bird was soon in
hand.
          The bird was determined to be an
immature male Rufous.
        Carroll Mottern, who has been hosting
the bird all winter at his home at 115
Reynolds Road, Elizabethton, was away
during the time we tried to capture the bird
but arrived in the driveway just as the bird
was caught and removed from the trap.
        It is much more colorful than the young
female at Kingsport and was a little heavier.
Moore said it had been feeding well and
was in good condition, despite the fact the
plumage was ragged from winter wear.
It is replacing new feathers at this time and
only lacks a couple of new primaries.  More
said it would migrate as soon as the new
primaries grow in.
        Thanks to Mark and Joy for their
excellent and valuable contribution to the
identification of the Kingsport bird. 

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN

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[bristol-birds] Kingsport hummer no Black-chinned

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