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
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mihummingbirdguy/collections/
Website/Blog: http://mihummingbirdguy.blogspot.com/
On Fri, Oct 28, 2022 at 10:13 AM Anthony Hill <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 (http://www.nabanding.net)
Coordinator, Appledore Island Migration Station (
http://appledorebanding.org/)
Member, Board of Directors, Kestrel Land Trust (
https://www.kestreltrust.org/)
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