Hi,
I kept a close eye on my hummingbird feeders and I did not have the “horde”
that Anthony had this evening. I did have two black-chinned hummingbirds this
afternoon, but that was all.
Jim Crites
Northwest Lubbock
Sent from my iPad
On Sep 8, 2019, at 8:24 PM, Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Greetings All:
After a considerable period of time with no hummingbirds in my yard
(the last hummingbird to grace my yard was a male Rufous Hummingbird
on 19 July) a veritable horde (at least six) descended on my feeders
this evening just before some weather blew in from the west. This may
have been coincidental but one can't help but wonder if the storm
shifted them this way and put them in the way of looking for urban
feeders.
Closely watching the perches and perch evictions at the feeders and on
nearby branches I was able to identify four of the six birds present:
an immature female Calliope Hummingbird that liked to perch low in the
lantanas and was left relatively unmolested at the feeders and at her
perch; an immature male Broad-tailed Hummingbird that sought out high
perches on bare branches in one of the pecan trees (and was in
constant turmoil with the Rufous Hummingbirds); and two Rufous
Hummingbirds (one immature female and one immature male) that perched
on lines near the feeder or in the fruitless mulberry on the other
side of the house and were in constant conflict with the Broad-tailed
Hummingbird and with each other.
The Calliope Hummingbird was pretty sly, slipping in on the feeders
from her low perch in the lantana thickets whenever the other, larger
birds were busy chasing each other out of the yard.
The other two hummingbirds seen lacked any buffy or reddish tones but
were not allowed to settle long enough at perches or at the feeders
for me to get really solid looks - with both Ruby-throated Hummingbird
and Black-chinned Hummingbird possible at my feeders in September I
had to leave these two birds be, identification-wise.
Anthony Hewetson; Lubbock