Winter hummers in the south

20 years ago

Are you in the Deep South? May want to keep those feeders up! All the ruby-throats are gone, but there may still be hummingbirds around for those of us in the deep south. I'm in Baton Rouge, LA and I've been seeing birds (one bird? multiple birds? hard to tell!) for a few weeks now. Got a better picture and video this time... So if you're in the south, dig that feeder back up and hang it out...you may be pleasantly surprised!

The local experts I showed this to tell me it's either a Rufous or Allen's adult female and that's almost impossible to distinguish the two in the field. That's OK with me...I'll take either one! I've reported it to the local bird counters, and a bander may come try to put a band on her too!

Here are some shots extracted from the video for those that can't view the video:

And the link to the video:

Click here to watch 'NewHummer'

--Jane in BR,LA

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Comments (4)

helena_z8_ms
20 years ago
That's great encouraging news. I'm hoping more for a visitor or two this year!

Helena, on the Gulf Coast
penny1947
20 years ago
Jane you may want to contact Nancy Newfield in Metairie. She is a licensed bander and this is her busy time of the year banding vagrant hummers. She can give you a positive ID on the species. BTW, what plant is it feeding on...Firespike? Wonderful pics!

Penny
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jap373
Original Author
20 years ago
Penny,

The "local experts" to I refer to in my post include Nancy Newfield and Dave Patton, both hummer banders. Both say the same thing...nearly impossible to distinguish adult female Rufous or Allen's in the field...have to measure wings, tail, etc. Nancy wants to band this one if it sticks around, and it looks like it just might! That will be so neat!

Yes, the plant it's feeding on is Firespike. Lots of hummer plants blooming right now...and this little baby has them all to herself :-)

--Jane
penny1947
20 years ago
Jane,
Do keep us posted on banding your little visitor. I know Nancy's own hummer count is way down this year so far. Hopefully things will pick up down there and there will be more activity over the next couple of months.

I am still looking for a firespike up here. I am so envious of y'all of the plants that I can no longer find since moving up here.

Penny