OUT

On August 6, 2006, an adult male Black-chinned Hummingbird was caught and banded by Master Bander and manager of the Wing Island Banding Station, Sue Finnegan. The bird was coming to a feeder at her home in Brewster, MA. She sent photos to hummingbird expert Bob Sargent, who confirmed the identification. Fabulous photos of the bird are available at http://massbird.org/sightings/hotbirds/bchu.htm . Sue writes: "I was actually home sick that day, so knowing that hummingbird banding is rather relaxing as opposed to passerine banding, I decided to give it a try."

Observers staked out the feeder in Brewster on August 7 and August 8, but the bird did not appear again. Marj Rines commented on massbird that many of the fall Selasphorus and other hummingbird vagrants in our area are discovered when homeowners report a late hummingbird at their feeders after the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have left. The capture of this bird suggests that earlier vagrants, in August, may be being missed among the crowds of Ruby-throats. A call to more careful observations in our yards! If confirmed by the MARC, this bird will become the second state record of a Black-chinned in Massachusetts, the first being one in Cohassett in 1979. Last December's "mystery bird" on Martha's Vineyard may have been a Black-chinned as well, but stronger evidence was needed for a positive determination.

2) PHILLIPS, ME-- c. September 25- November 2, HY Male Rufous

There have been only two confirmed Rufous Hummingbirds in Maine over the past twenty years or so, and about 7 or 8 "Selasphorus" reports. So it was particularly exciting when, on October 13, 2006, Bill Sheehan reported that an apparent female Rufous/Allens hummer had been coming to a feeder at Dorothy Haggan's house in Phillips, in northern Maine, "for a couple of weeks". Dot had first noticed the bird, with its rusty flanks and tail feathers, about September 25. On October 25, Dot wrote to New England Hummers that the bird was still there, apparently doing fine even through the 1" snow on Monday October 23:

"My feeder is outside my window so have been able to observe her up close. She is still here, feeding, bathing, chasing off chickadees, warblers, even thrushes. ...She eats about every 15 minutes. I have been making 4 parts water to 1 sugar." She is a feisy character, and in addition, is a real cutie! Below are two photos taken by Suzanne Sanborn, of Bremen, Maine. On November 2, the bird was trapped, and will spend the winter with a rehabber.

Louis Bevier, Research Associate in the Biology Department at Colby College, had an opportunity to examine this bird, both visually and in hand. He reported on "maine-birds" on November 19 that it " is an IMMATURE (hatch-year) MALE RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD based on the shape and width of the tail feathers. Although initially thought to be a female, the fact that it is a male was apparent in photographs of the bird at the feeder which showed extensive rufous at the base of the central tail feathers visible well beyond the green upper tail coverts. Females have mostly green central tail feathers with any rufous coloration in these central tail feathers usually hidden by the upper tail coverts. Elimination of Allen's Hummingbird could only be made in hand, where a slight emargination at the tip of the second pair of tail feathers out from the central pair could be seen and by the width of the outermost pair of tail feathers (>2.7 mm at widest point; Phillips bird 3.0-3.5 mm). "

On October 31 Cynthia Drummond, of Snug Harbor, Wakefield, Rhode Island, reported to New England Hummers that her neighbor, Wayne Davis, had been observing a late hummingbird at his feeder since at least October 29. She sent along one of Wayne's photos of the bird; here it is on the left, enlarged:

At least three experienced hummingbird experts viewed this and other photos, and the consensus is that it is an adult female Selasphorus, probably Rufous. Kudos to Cynthia and Wayne for quickly recognizing that this bird was not a Ruby-throated, and getting the word out! Identification of the bird was further confirmed by a series of photos taken on November 2 by Geoff Dennis, one of which is below, left. And on the right is Cynthia Drummond's eye-catching photo of the bird, taken November 3.

As of January 3, 2007, this bird was still visiting the feeder, and the owners had placed a heat lamp over it, and was feeding it a protein and vitamin-enriched nectar. On January 17, 2007 ' neighbor Cynthia Drummond checked up on this bird, and here is what she wrote to New England Hummers:

The selas is still at Waynes! He found her waiting at 6:30 this morning when he went to hang the feeder. She had a good feed, then basked for nearly 10 minutes under the heat lamp they've set up next to the feeder. He says he's seen her fly repeatedly into a spruce tree in their yard, and thinks she might be roosting there. He's going to try and find out if that's where she's spending her nights. Last night was the coldest here so far this winter - in the teens.

This plucky bird made it through some more bitter cold and winds, especially on January 26, when she was seen feeding and flying normally, although spending a lot of time under the heat lamps. However, on the morning of January 27, despite much warmer temperatures, the bird did not appear. The owners searched the yard, but did not find her. Later, in February, the owner found the body of this bird in his yard. Here is some evidence that even the best-fed Rufous Hummers do not necessarily move south from here, and that they cannot survive our winters.

According to the Massachusetts journal, Bird Observer,, and North American Birds Vol 60, No. 3, p 351, there was an adult male Selasphorus species hummingbird photographed at a feeder in North Orange, MA , 4/22-4/27/06. Reported by A. and D. McLeod et al., photographed by R. Scherer.

On Nov. 5, Blair Nikula reported on 'massbird' that an immature male Selasphorus, probably a Rufous Hummingbird, was coming to a feeder in Dennis, MA. (Cape Cod) The bird has been present for at least three weeks, if not more, but not until November 2 was it recognized as a Rufous-type. Blair Nikula put up a web page, with some photos taken by the homeowners, at: http://www.capecodbirds.org/RUHU_Dennis1106.htm , and says that
"The photo of the spread tail, though of very poor quality, seems to show that the outer tail feather is relatively broad and rounded, which suggests it is a Rufous, and there seems to be nothing else about the bird that would indicate otherwise (though contrary opinions would be welcome!).
The homeowners, Sandy and Charlie McGibbon, are willing to have small numbers of birders visit, but would appreciate a phone call beforehand (508-385-8440). The bird is visiting a feeder in front of the house, and can be seen from their driveway, but not from the road."

On November 13, this bird was banded by Sue Finnegan, Manager of the Wing Island Banding Station at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. It was an after-hatch-year female Rufous, actual age uncertain. Three of Sue's banding photos are below:

According to Blair Nikula, the bird was last seen on November 16, just before the passage of a cold front.

6) COTUIT, MA October 27 - "sometime between Christmas and New Year's", 2006 Rufous Hummingbird, hatch-year male

On the first day this bird was seen, October 27, the homeowner, Tom Burgess, who is also a birder, reported it to the Cape Cod Bird Club list and to Mary Keleher of the CCBC. Tom wrote to New England Hummers that "There were definitely two birds on that day as they were both sitting in a Stewartia tree about 15 feet from my wife's studio window and both showed very similar coloration. Although one can't rule out the presence of an attending Allen's, from observing them both my wife and I saw very little difference in the birds except in the gorget of which one was more finely lined than the other's leading me to believe it was perhaps a HY female."

On November 5, Marj Rines reported the sightings on 'massbird' , mentioning that the Burgess' had taken down their feeder the week before the birds arrived, but they were feeding on Salvia. The second bird, however, did not stay around. Photos of one bird feeding on blue salvia on November 4, and at a feeder on November 10, taken by Tom Burgess, are posted at: http://massbird.org/sightings/hotbirds/CotuitHummer.htm As Nancy Newfield commented on humnet, these photos show the bird to be an immature male Selasphorus, probably Rufous, with rusty feathers coming in on his upper back.

On November 12, this bird was banded by Sue Finnegan, Manager of the Wing Island Banding Station at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. Three banding photos of this lovely Hatch Year Male Rufous are below. Compare these photos to those of the female Rufous in Dennis (above) to see the gorget similarities, but differences in coloration of the back, and with the Wakefield, RI bird (above) to see the male-female tail differences.

Tom Burgess has been pleased to welcome many viewers to the backyard to see this lovely Rufous, who was nicknamed "Charlie." The bird was still being seen on December 16, 2006, when it was counted on the Buzzards Bay Christmas Bird Count, and up to December 20, when the homeowners had to leave on a trip, but left feeders up. When Tom Burgess returned on January 9, he learned that the feeder had been going down steadily during his absence, up until the week between Christmas and New Years. Charlie apparently left sometime during that week.

7) CATAUMET, MA Hatch-year Female Rufous Hummingbird, Nov. 17 - sometime in January 2007.

On November 17, Sue Finnegan banded a third Rufous Hummingbird on Cape Cod, this time a hatch-year female at Cataumet. Below are two of her photos. [According to Bird Observer, 35:3 p. 190, the bird stayed into January at least under a feeder with heat lamps.]

On November 28, Jeremiah Trimble, Curator of Birds at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, posted the following on massbird:

"I guess it is a decent time (thanks Blair!) to let everyone know about the Calliope Hummingbird that was present in West Falmouth for a few days in early November. Unfortunately, the bird was in a yard that was not accessible (by want of the homeowners). More importantly, the bird did not stick around as it was visiting a yard with no feeder. It was mainly feeding on Pineapple Sage. Peter Trimble and Bill Loughran were lucky enough to see the bird on the last day it was present (although the homeowner may have seen it a few days later). They went suspecting a Selasphorus as I think any of us would on such a late date. They discovered a mostly green hummingbird inconsistent with any Selasphorus. Peter Trimble was able to document the bird with some video and still images. The images and their sightings suggested Ruby-throat as a possibility but they were unable to make a firm decision due to views etc. Peter sent pictures to Blair [Nikula] and I for second opinions as he suspected something more interesting was involved here. It was from these
pictures and the video that my dad and I decided this was indeed a Calliope Hummingbird! "

Marj Rines has posted some photos by Peter Trimble of this cute little bird at http://massbird.org/sightings/hotbirds/Calliope.htm See further observations by Jeremiah Trimble about this bird under 15) below, LIGHTHOUSE PT., CT. Calliope Hummingbird. [Also see late reports of TWO other Calliope in Massachusetts, 16) and 17) below.]

This bird was reported to Jayne Amico and bander Mark Szantyr, but it had left by November 9. Patty DiLauria took a video of it at her feeder on November 8, which was sufficient to identify it as a probable Selasphorus species.

On Saturday, November 18, Connecticut bander mark Szantyr had a big day---he banded three Rufous Hummers in one day! One was this beautiful hatch-year male, which had been coming to a homeowner's feeder since at least November 9.

11) NIANTIC, CT After hatch-year female Rufous Hummingbird, October 29 - January 11,2007 (last report)

Mark also banded this bird on November 18. The homeowner, Vicky, reported to New England Hummers on November 11 that the bird had been coming to her feeder since at least October 29. She couldn't be there when it was banded, but learned that the bird was in good health. In November she wrote that the little bird "has been here for 3 weeks now and so far its been warmer than normal; I even have a few flowers still going strong, but now it looks likes its going to get cold again." On January 11, 2007, Vicky wrote to New England Hummers that "My Rufous is still here and doing very well, she is feeding later in the day now that the cold weather is back." Vicky is continuing to feed with a heat light over the feeder.

Mark's third banding on November 18 was the HY male shown on the right, below, coming to a feeder in Stamford, CT. This bird only showed up on November 18, the day that Mark banded it. Amazing!

13) SOMERS, CT After-hatch-year Female Rufous early October - January 16, 2007 (last date)

This bird arrived in early October, but was believed to be a Ruby-throated. When it was banded by Mark Szantyr on November 24, it was determined to be an adult female Rufous. This was Mark's 4th banding in a week---- quite a few Rufous in CT this year!

From CT Reports: 12/01/06 - Somers, 47 Juniper Hill Rd -- The Rufous Hummingbird is still coming to
the feeder; was seen at 1:30 pm today after a 30 minute wait.. The feeder is behind the house seen from the left side of the house. A visitor log is near a tree to the left rear of the house. 12/13/06- Somers -- The female Rufous Hummingbird continues at 47 Juniper Hill Rd as of this morning, coming regularly to heated feeder on deck. 12/24/06 - one "very, merry RUFOUS (Hummingbird) in a pine tree" continues at 47 Juniper Hill Dr. (1st house on the left, homeowner has erected a hummingbird silouette on a post on the path to the viewing site and placed a settee for viewing comfort while waiting). She is still feeding daily every 15-20 minutes (from her heated high protein nectar mix) from sunrise till about 2PM. Pictures don't do this bird justice, she has brilliant green back feathers, striking olive throat feathers, and deep rich purple wing feathers! (from Jan Collins). 1/3/2007 - seen 3 times today. 1/14/2007- seen today.

Photographer Anita Mueller visited this bird on 12/18/06; some good photos of the bird and of the heated feeder it is coming to are posted on her website http://www.wildshots.net/Birds.html. Anita writes: "Marilyn and Wes Smith have a wonderful yard with many feeders....The Rufous fed about every 15 minutes and by about 2 pm seemed done for the day. Marilyn confirmed this, that they never see it past 3 pm.....They are feeding it a protein rehabilitative mix from a heated tray that Marilyn replenishes each day at 6:30 am."

On January 25. the homeowners reported to CT Reports that they had not been seen the bird since January 16, just before a strong cold front came in.
While the homeowners were saddened at the bird's departure, they were overwelmed with all the kind folks who came to visit and chat and even leave
birdseed and a birdhouse for their other feathered friends. Let's hope this bird decides to return again next year.

14) NEW FAIRFIELD, CT After Hatch-year Female Rufous "present since mid-October"- banded Dec 2, 2006. This was Mark Szantyr's FIFTH Rufous banding this fall. Photos below:

[Note 2/18/08: This bird has now been accepted by the Avian Records Committee of Connecticut as the first state record of a Calliope Hummingbird. An excellent account by Julian Hough appears in The Connecticut Warbler 27:3 July 2007, containing annotated photos and discussion of the identification characteristics which separate Calliope from Rufous/Allens, Ruby-throateds, and other late hummers in the northeast.]

On December 2, Roy Harvey reported the following on CT Reports : "An apparent CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was found today in New Haven at Lighthouse Point Park by Nick Bonomo, with Dori Sosensky. They were joined by many others who saw the bird, but in particular by Julian Hough and Frank Gallo who took many pictures and studied the bird very closely..."

On the morning of December 3, Mark Szantyr, assisted by Jayne Amico, captured and banded the Calliope, confirming the identification and sex. Age was uncertain [still unknown - 2008]. Here are three of his banding photos:

The question arose as to whether this bird might actually be the same Calliope as the one seen in West Falmouth, MA, listed above. After examining the photos of both, Jeremiah Trimble posted the following on massbird on Dec. 6:

"I believe that these two birds are clearly different. The Massachusetts bird was a male based on a number of characters including the heavily spotted throat, fairly extensive rufous at the base of the tail as observed in the field, fresh plumage overall and the reduced white mark (though still present) in front of the eye. Also, observers noted a spot or two of rose in the throat in the field. Calliope Hummingbirds have been recorded more frequently throughout the eastern United States over the last few years and observers should be aware that they will likely occur with greater frequency in the coming falls."

The Lighthouse Point Calliope was seen all day on December 6, but on December 7 Dori Sosensky and others reported that " After being around since early morning, the CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was last seen at 11:30 a.m.,
possibly flying toward southwest. Birders remained until around 4:30 but the bird was not seen again. " Nor was it seen on December 8 or thereafter.

There were reports and photos from Geoff Dennis and others of TWO Calliopes in South Dartmouth: a Calliope male which stayed from Nov 4, 2006 to Jan 20, 2007, and 1 Calliope female which was present from 12/5/06 to Jan. 26, 2007 at feeders a few miles apart. Our very mild winter not doubt encouraged their very late stay. [Dates from Bird Observer 35: 2, 3] Two photos by Geoff, one of each bird, are below. In them, one can observe the pot-bellied body shape, gorget spots in male (raspberry in another photo), and wing tips longer than tail in female.