Hi Anthony,
If it is still warm and the first frost has not taken the flowers down, I will
only give it 30 min or so. Especially, if the bird makes a couple passes but
is trap shy and has so many options to feed. As other have suggested you
could use a trainer trap. I usually would just wait after the first frost and
then the bird usually will be much more cooperative.
Take Care,
Rusty
Rusty Trump
Gainesville, GA
________________________________
From: humband-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <humband-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of
Allen Chartier <amazilia3@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2022 10:53 AM
To: humband@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <humband@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [humband] Re: skunked ! - and a question/survey
Anthony,
Congratulations on your success rate so far, and this being your first miss
:-). My own success rate is very high in November, December, and January, when
there are no flowers, and fewer insects to compete for the bird's attention.
During those months, my average wait time for a Rufous to go into my trap is 5
minutes. September and October is a completely different story. Last year I had
2 misses, and one that took me 3 tries to catch. The first miss, in September,
was an adult male that zipped in and out of the trap, avoiding the dropping
door. It did not return despite a 2 hour wait. Another attempt would have been
made as this bird was only 2 hours away, but it was never seen again after my
trapping attempt. Another adult male, this one in late October, did what your
bird did. It made a couple passes around the trap and then went away, never to
return in the 2 hours I waited. Another attempt was not in the cards as this
one was 5 hours away. Last week, that same homeowner reported an adult male
Rufous, so I am risking waiting until November this time.
The one that I tried for 3 times was only 2 hours away and on my first attempt
in late September zipped up to the trap and turned tail straight into the
extensive flower garden. It made one more pass about 15 minutes later, and then
was only seen about once every 45 minutes in the flowers after that. I waited 2
1/2 hours that day. In October, this bird again made one pass by the trip
within minutes of setup, and then took off out of sight, not returning to the
yard during the 2 hours I waited. My third attempt in mid-November saw a
completely brown garden, which made me happy. And the hatch-year female Rufous
went into the trap within 10 minutes of setup. She wasn't banded, so thoughts
of her hesitance being due to previous trap experience was unfounded. Neither
of the adult males described above were banded either, based on excellent
photos taken by the homeowners.
So to answer your question about how long to wait for a Rufous, for me it
depends on the situation...the bird's behavior, time of year, temperature,
condition of the garden, etc. My longest wait that resulted in success was 3
hours, but it was somewhat accidental that I was there that long. It was early
December, I think, in a residential area in Columbus, Ohio. The home had a
central courtyard with a few, but not many plants, and a single feeder. I had
agreed to be interviewed for a TV show with a friend with whom I'd done
interviews before. Several other observers were present inside the home,
waiting for the bird. The skies were overcast and the temperature was in the
upper 30s. No bird after 1 hour. I talked with Jim about all kinds of
hummingbird stuff and we continued to wait. At the 2 hour point, with still no
sighting of the bird, I declared defeat and that I was going to give up. But,
as I like to talk, and so does Jim, I didn't get around to taking the trap down
when suddenly, just around the 3 hour mark, the bird showed, and popped right
into the trap! Clearly, there was another feeder in the area as this was not a
rural setting with abundant resources, and all the gardens were brown by then.
Allen T. Chartier
Inkster, Michigan
Email: amazilia3@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:amazilia3@xxxxxxxxx>
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On Fri, Oct 28, 2022 at 10:13 AM Anthony Hill
<anhinga13@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:anhinga13@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi Colleagues,
Yesterday I experienced my first time being skunked by a Rufous/Allen's here in
New England. This bird has been regularly visiting a feeder at a coastal
Massachusetts location for about a week, and I sat for 90 minutes waiting for
it to go into the trap. It made 2 passes near my setup within the first 20
minutes after I sat to wait, and after that was just flying around the yard.
Because this is a coastal New England location there are still lots of
hummingbird-friendly plants in bloom and the bird was visiting them instead of
the feeder. The homeowner reports that it will go to her feeder regularly all
day at 20-30 minute intervals and tolerates her sitting quietly 10-15 feet from
the feeder.
So my question is how long do people typically wait in a situation like this.
With my other Selasphorus in New England, the bird usually is back near the
feeder very soon after I set up, and in the trap within 20-30 minutes. As
noted, I sat fo 90 minutes and I'm wondering how long is a reasonable time.
Because of other commitments and wanting to avoid the worst of the weekday
traffic, I left at about 1245 p.m. and of course I'm told the bird was back at
the feeder after I left.
From the photos I think it's an HY/M RUHU; the host hasn't caught any tail
photos yet. I'm somewhat intrigued by the apparent 'trap-phobia' and wondering
if it had prior trap experience and maybe is already banded. None of the photos
show anything that might suggest a band, and the host doesn't have useful
binoculars or a spotting scope.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, similar tales, what have you.
Thanks very much.
Anthony (in Massachusetts)
Anthony Hill
Certified Trainer, Passerines and Hummingbirds
Co-Chair, Hummingbird Working Group
North American Banding Council
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