Hi Folks,
Just wanted to let you know, that after contacting a number of people who
have reported pre-April Calliope Hummingbirds in Oregon, and with some
helpful footwork by others as well, I found:
1 well-written description of a male in eBird
1 photograph of a female in eBird
1 mention in eBird notes that a photograph was taken of a male
All of these were the last week of March. There were no notes or
documentation for any Calliope Hummingbirds in Oregon prior to the last
week of March (e.g., February reports also had no details). There were a
dozen or so reports of Calliope Hummingbird for mid- to late March, which
seems to be the normal earliest arrival on an annual basis these days.
For those with opportunity, I encourage you to share notes or photographs
of possible (or "obvious") Calliope Hummingbirds prior to April and
especially prior to mid-March, as those are rare birds indeed!
Calliope's are awesome!
Matt Hunter
Melrose, OR
http://umpquabirds.blogspot.com/2015/05/study-female-calliope-hummingbird-in.html
On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 12:50 PM, Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Folks,
Following are some previous pre-April reports from OBOL (just back to
2013):
2 males at the Audubon Wildlife Care Center on Feb 21, 2013:
//www.freelists.org/post/obol/Fwd-Portland-CALLIOPE-Hummingbirds
COMMENTS: I have seen no further details or documentation.
1 bird (sex not specified) at Bend feeder, March 14, 2014 (Portland RBA):
//www.freelists.org/post/obol/RBA-Portland-OR-32113
COMMENTS: no details given.
Male and female from March 29, 2013, near Silverton:
//www.freelists.org/post/obol/Male-Calliope-Hummingbird
and
https://www.freelists.org/post/obol/Female-Calliope-at-same-feeder
COMMENTS: no details given, no photos.
1 bird (sex not specified) in Sisters, March 21, 2015 (Portland RBA):
//www.freelists.org/post/obol/RBA-Portland-OR-32615
COMMENTS: No details given.
1 female March 25, 2015, Union County:
//www.freelists.org/post/obol/Union-County-OR-female-CALLIOPE-HUMMINGBIRD
COMMENTS: has link to eBird checklist and photo. I cannot confirm that the
bird is not a very young Anna's Hummingbird or Costa's Hummingbird, not
unlike the one on my blog (
http://umpquabirds.blogspot.com/2016/01/careful-with-calypte-in-december-2015.html).
The sides/flanks on my screen look gray, not buffy. Bill seems a bit
long&thin to me for Calliope (compare
http://umpquabirds.blogspot.com/2015/05/study-female-calliope-hummingbird-in.html).
Trent, if you have any other photos, it would be interesting to see them.
Birds of Oregon (BOGR, 2003), Tom Crabtree in previous email, and others
report a few March records. Do any of these have documentation/photos?
EVALUATION OF THE ABOVE INFO: Are there any unequivocally documented
Calliope Hummingbirds prior to April in Oregon? If you have any
documentation on pre-April Calliope Hummers, could you please share with
us? Are there any previously published photos? If you've got one at your
place now, try for some photos!!!
REGARDING THE FLARED GORGET:
Some Anna's or Anna's x Costa's hybrids have large flared gorgets and at
least some of these also appear smaller. For example (example is for
gorget, can't tell size in this photo):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewghunter/9145786785/in/album-72157634345525563/
BILL CURVATURE IN CALYPTE
Just a note that this is really tough to rely upon. Not only is it hard to
tell what's what from different angles, but in my opinion there is too much
variation in the actual birds when we're considering the Calypte hummers
(Anna's and Costa's). Yeah, take note of how you perceive it, but don't put
much weight on it for these species.
WING/TAIL POSITION
Not only can this be difficult to judge at particular angles, some
individual birds--usually immatures--can show relatively shorter tails.
This character is best considered among a larger set of characteristics.
Female and immature hummingbirds, and even some males, can be really
difficult to ID. Knowledge that an occurrence is unusual at a particular
time or place helps to heighten one's observation skills and carefulness.
Patience and diligence in documentation and study are usually rewarded,
though sometimes the conclusion is "I don't know." :-)
Bring on the photos! (Video and sound recordings help too!)
Best,
Matt Hunter
Melrose, OR
