Hello birders,
For those not on the Maryland listserve, a very interesting hummer post from
Saturday morning. Lori, you were right! I did not see a second hummer while I
was there, but now it's been confirmed. How exciting! (And how nice that
there are cold-hardy birders who went out this morning so I don't have to.)<g>
Laura Farron
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MDOSPREY
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 10:13:53 -0500
Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Frank Powers <frankpowers@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Black-chinned Hummer (& friend?), S.I.
The hummer was present this morning at the Ripley Gardens between the Hirschorn
and Arts & Industries museums. Ron Staley of Herndon had been observing since
about 7:30am, and had two hummers perched near each other (and may have gotten
video) in the shrubs by the A&I building. They both "appeared to be the same,"
he said. When I arrived at 8:50am, it was just in time to see one chase another
off (but at that speed, all I could distinguish were the sounds of Hummer
"conflict" and two blurs). One, which seemed to be an immature male, remained
in the area for the next 40 minutes, alternating between many minutes of
perching, to many minutes of feeding actively on the various flowers. When
perched, it offered excellent views in the bright sunlight, frequently preening
& scratching, with the opportunity to see its features and colors from many
angles. At one point, the sun glinted off a single metallic-like spot on its
throat. This bird's throat had a pattern of "dots" on it. Its sides were buff,
with the same color above and below its tail. It had a "broken" eye-ring, with
white behind its eyes. Beak was long, decurved and seemed rather thicker than a
Ruby-throat. It's crown had a grayish color to it. Behind its beak and before
the eyes (forgive me, but I forget what that areas is called), it appeared to
have a spot of buff color. Its back was mainly greenish, interspersed with that
same golden-buffy color. Its call sounded different from a Ruby-throat. And, it
flicked its tail frequently at one time when perched (many other times it sat
quietly, moving only its head rapidly as it surveyed its territory). It seems
to have some "weight" to it, appearing rather round, not unlike a Hummer's
weight-gain as it prepares for migration. It did not feed from the Hummer
feeder while we were there, 'tho it spent a good portion of its time in that
tree. In the same area was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Parking at that hour was not
a problem. Could have been the very windy and chilly conditions. During the
entire time (both Ron's and mine) no other birders came by. If you get the
chance, it's quite a treat! Frank Powers Glen Echo, MD Montgomery County
frankpowers@xxxxxxxxxxx
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