VAbirders,
Oops, I spoke too soon. This one from Nancy Newfield is important, see her=
=20
comments below, please excuse another note on this thread....... Lori=20
Markoff, Vienna, VA
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 05:43:13 -0500=20
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the=20
Southeast <HUMNET-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sender: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the=20
Southeast <HUMNET-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Nancy L Newfield <colibri@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] [va-bird] Winter Hummingbirds
To: HUMNET-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lori, Humnuts,
At 05:35 PM 9/23/2002 -0400, Lori Markoff wrote:
I'm sorry, but I respectfully take issue with the following post. It is
not true that leaving up your hum feeders will cause hummers to
stay. Hummers migrate south as they are programmed to do, whether you=20
havea feeder up or not. The western hummers that over-winter in the east=
=20and southeast are there because something about their "wiring" is telling=
them not to migrate to Mexico and points further south.<snip>
This annual discussion is getting off to an early start this
year. Usually, it doesn't come up until November! I don't necessarily
agree with everything that others have posted on this issue, but one
important aspect has not yet been addressed.
The folks who initiated this discussion need to be disabused of the notion
that the Rufous Hummingbird [or any other western species] that appears at
any feeder in the east is on the same footing as the Ruby-throated
Hummingbird that was present all summer. An important concept here has
been overlooked.
The Ruby-throated that is using a feeder [or garden] anywhere in the east
is relatively close to its point of origin. The Rufous [or other western
species] that arrives in the same location will have ALREADY migrated
thousands of miles to reach the same destination. These western birds are
NOT birds that have failed to migrate, but rather they are individuals that
have already expended an enormous amount of energy in reaching the eastern
locale. In this regard, their internal mechanisms may be telling them that
their migration is finished.
NLN
***************************
Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibr=ED
Metairie, Louisiana USA
<colibri@xxxxxxxxxx>
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