Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris
In June 1958, John Brown “caught an almost imperceptible movement” in a low-hanging branch of a silver maple in his yard. Closer inspection revealed “ a nest hardly bigger than a golf ball with a female Ruby-throated hummingbird perched on a twig a few inches away.” (BA, 26 June 1958) “The nest . . . swings with every stirring breeze, but this doesn’t seem to bother the hummingbird. . . . The nest is less than 20 feet from the ground and has been subjected to much close scrutiny, but the parent bird flies off only when someone stands directly beneath her.” True to form, there was no male to be seen. After all, once the female is impregnated, the male goes off to establish a separate territory, and leaves it all up to the female to build a nest, incubate the eggs and brood and feed the nestlings. All by herself!
Background
This is the only breeding hummingbird in eastern North America, nesting from central Canada back through the eastern half of the U.S. Despite their tiny size – weighing, on average, only 3.5 grams – many fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico during fall and spring migration. “Arrival on northern breeding grounds may depend on earlier arrival of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker to guarantee availability of sap in absence of reliable nectar production.” Main choice of flowers or feeders based on “energetic rewards. . . No evidence that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds strongly prefer any particular color.” Male and female remain together only for courtship and copulation; female builds nest and cares for young. Though population data is scanty, this species “does not appear to be threatened in any part of its range.” (BNA 204:1, 3, 5, 7, 11) Local history
“There appears to have been virtually no change in this species’ status in New York over the past century other than its extirpation from New York City,” Steven Sibley observed in his profile of this species for The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. (Andrle, p. 222)Eaton (1910) listed this as a common summer resident in Monroe and Livingston counties, and fairly common in Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm, with a maximum count of four, on dates ranging from 29 April to 30 September.When Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, this species was reported 135 times, between the second week of May and the end of September, always one or two birds, with 46 sightings last half of May. (KB 5:69: 4A-4B)In 1953 Tanghe listed this as an uncommon breeding species in the Rochester area, and specifically mentioned Clover Street and Ridge Road as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 27 April to 26 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 10 to 18 May. Subsequently, one 25 April 2001 (J. Thurston) at Brockport set a new record early date. (GNR)During the spring of 2000 a total of 417 were banded at Manitou and Yanty Creek. (KB50: 283) The following year, 51 males and 72 females were banded at Manitou in May. (KB 51:695) Summer/breeding status: Evidence of breeding was found in almost every block during both BBA projects.

Summer maxima: 10 in July 1986 (Will) at Burroughs Audubon Nature Center. (GOS, September 1986)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 29 August to 29 October (1963), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 9 to 28 September. Subsequently, one lingered until 17 November 1992 (fide F. Dobson) at Parma. (GOS, January 1993)Most depart by the end of September, but some linger into fall, especially at feeders. Two did so at a Webster hummingbird feeder (B. Kemnitzer) until 29 October 1963 (KB14: 35); the Parma bird, a female, visited a sugar-water feeder. (KB43: 45) A light bulb was rigged, with a reflector, to hang just above the feeder to keep the liquid from freezing. “It would show up at the feeder at daylight and appear regularly all day, till almost dark,” Frank Dobson reported. It was last seen at 5 p.m. on the 17th. (Birds, 13, 29 November 1992)
Misc.
These fascinating, feisty little birds provide endless entertainment at flower beds and backyard feeders. Bob Dobson was watering a bed of impatiens when a female Ruby-throated – a regular visitor – made an appearance. “Knowing that some birds are attracted to a fine spray, he adjusted the nozzle to a fog-like mist,” his brother Frank reported. “Immediately the hummingbird flew into the spray and hovered for several seconds, then retreated to a twig on a nearby tree where it shook itself and carefully preened its feathers.” It repeated this performance five times before finally flying off. (Birds, 14 August 1983)Two others, a male and a female, shot by Frank’s right shoulder, no more than six inches away, while he walked through nearby Badgerow Park in 1991. A male was in “hot pursuit” of a female. When the female landed on a twig, only 30 feet away, the male immediately began its courtship ritual, rising about 15 feet above the ground in front of and to one side of the female, then swinging low, just over the grass and climbing to the same height on the opposite side of the female. He repeated this pendulum maneuver a dozen times. “Then the lady hummer leaped from the perch, the chase resumed, and the two tiny birds were gone in an instant.” (Birds, 2 June 1991)One was “picking insects out of a spider web” at Island Cottage Wood, 20 May 2001, to the delight of 25 birders on a field trip there. (LG, June 2001) Another was spotted “zipping around the ceiling” inside the Wegmans Supermarket at Ridgemont Plaza in Greece. Last seen, it had “come to rest on a sign hanging over the produce department.” (Birds, 14 August 1983)Edson watched a young hummingbird approaching cluster after cluster of mountain ash berries in July 1944, “apparently thinking them blossoms, and upon discovering that it was mistaken, it vented its displeasure in a prolonged series of angry squeaks and screams, even as we sometimes express our displeasure at the cussedness of inanimate objects.” (WBR, 31 July 1944)“. . . he is perfectly capable of driving away the largest hawks, crows and eagles – he flies at the intruder like a bullet; but just before striking, will back off as rapidly as he advanced so as to put his enemy in absolute confusion,” Eaton observed. (Eaton II:177) Nearing sunset, this birder glanced up at the sky and was amused to see a hummingbird perched on a telephone wire at the back of his yard. The bird’s tiny body was immobile, but it was obvious the hummingbird was watching its surroundings closely. The tiny, thin bill kept sweeping back and forth like a little windshield wiper.

Broad-billed hummingbird

Cynanthus latirostris
Harold and Dorothy Legg were having their cups of coffee on the deck of their North Rose home the morning of 24 June 2006 when Harold noticed a completely different looking hummingbird among the Ruby-throateds visiting one of their feeders. From the side it looked all dark and had a thicker bill with orange-red on it. Harold nicknamed it “Darth Vader,” so dark did it appear. “We knew it wasn’t a Ruby-throated,” the Leggs related. Dorothy got out their Stokes bird guides, both for eastern and western birds, and soon realized what it was: an adult male Broad-billed Hummingbird, the first of its species ever recorded in New York State. Fortunately, they also took pictures that clearly showed the identity of the bird, which is normally found from the southwest U.S. through southern Mexico.
Background
These are among the smallest and most colorful of North American hummingbirds, with dark green bodies and a brilliant blue gorgets. They prefer nesting near creeks and other permanent bodies of water in otherwise arid canyons, especially where there are sycamore and mesquite trees. This species may use a “lek” system for courtship and breeding, in which males share a common displaying area that females visit before going off alone to build a nest and care for the young. Unlike most other hummingbirds, the females construct their nests close to the ground and rarely decorate them with lichen. “Nests may mimic the compact little balls of leaves and vegetation formed during periods of high water, thus making them extremely inconspicuous,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Broad-billeds rarely show aggression toward other hummingbird species, but are known to join other hummingbirds in mobbing Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, American Kestrel and Rough-winged Swallow. They are considered common throughout their year-round range in Mexico, but loss of habitat is a major concern for migratory birds at the north edge of their range because of reliance on “the diminishing riparian habitat of the arid Southwest.” (BNA 430: 1, 5, 8-10, 13)
Status Casual, very rare visitor.
Occurrence 1. One male 24-25 June 2006 (H. and D. Legg) North Rose. (KB 56: 337, 338) The bird that showed up 24 June 2006 at the Leggs’ 36-acre farm on Brick Schoolhouse Road seemed to fit right in with the nearly two-dozen Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that frequent the feeders they put up each year. “He seemed to be very hungry,” Dorothy added. “He came back to the feeder and fed for long periods” all that day. The next morning, Harold saw it again through a window, got his camera, but the Broad-billed had left by the time he got out on the deck. “It was the last we saw of him.” Interestingly, another was photographed in Tioga County 9 to 27 August later that same summer. Given the extraordinary rarity of occurrences anywhere east of the Mississippi, this inevitably raised the possibility it might have been the same bird.

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus
William and Loretta Groell of West Walworth didn’t notice anything particularly unusual about the hummingbird – until all the others left. This one stayed. And stayed. And stayed. Well into October of 2007, long after the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds the Groells feed each summer had departed. So Loretta called the Burroughs Audubon Nature Club phone number. Carolyn Ragan took the message and passed it on to Dominic Sherony. And Sherony dropped by the Groell residence on West Walworth Road on 24 October and confirmed that this was, indeed, something special. It was a Rufous Hummingbird, the first ever documented in our region. Best of all, it wasn’t a female or immature, which can be tricky to separate from Allen’s Hummingbird. It was an adult male with “rufous all over the back,” as Bob Spahn reported after seeing the bird later that day. “For those still caught up in feelings of doubt or guilt over whether or not they have really seen and personally identified a life Rufous . . . this bird would solve any such problems.”
Background This western species breeds farther north than any other hummingbird, ranging from the Pacific Northwest east into Montana and northward into Alaska. “After making the longest (measured in body lengths) known avian migration, individuals from Alaskan populations face a short breeding season but the longest day-length seen by any hummingbird,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Breeding Bird Survey data suggest declines between 1966 and 1989, but not statistically significant ones. “Secondary succession after logging, fires, and highway construction should increase food resources from flowering forbs and shrubs.” (BNA 53: 1, 13)“Of all the western hummingbirds, this is the one that strays most often to the east; small numbers live along (the) Gulf Coast every winter,” notes Kenn Kaufman in his field guide. (Kaufman, Birds, p. 214) Females and immatures can be difficult to separate from Allen’s Hummingbird. However, as of 2003, NYSARC had accepted six sightings statewide and acknowledged five others to be of the same genus – all since 1988.“Growing awareness of the tendency of these vagrants to appear in late fall and winter has prompted birders to scrutinize late season ornamental plantings,” NYSARC noted, “and hummingbird feeders are often left hanging well into November on the chance that a western stray might appear.” (KB 56: 14) Status
Casual, very rare visitor.
Occurrence
Sherony saw the bird come to a feeder on the Groells’ front porch three times between 1:30 and 3:20 p.m. on 24 October, and took photos clearly showing this bird’s distinctive plumage. “It comes infrequently and usually does not stay longer than 30 seconds at a time. But the Groells told me that it has been there for at least two weeks,” Sherony explained in an online posting on Genesee Birding at Birdsonthe.Net. The Groells graciously agreed to allow birders to watch from the road in front of their house. Mike Tetlow and Bob and Sue Spahn were among the birders who saw it later that day. After feeding, it would depart toward a maple at the south side of the yard, but was also observed perching at one point just above eye level in a spruce. “The bird can be picked out by wing noise when moving,” Spahn noted. The next morning, as more birders looked on, the bird continued to make ever so brief appearances at the feeder, which was also attracting bees. This birder finally dropped by for a look on 12 November, and enjoyed not only the striking plumage of the bird but also the generous hospitality of the Groells. By that point the Groells had nicknamed the bird “Herman,” and each morning Loretta was lightly heating the feeder before setting it out at 6:30 a.m. – before it was even daylight. She would then whistle and “Herman” would show up to be fed! And by that point the Groells’ guest list of visiting birders had grown to about 80 or 90 names. “Actually I’m enjoying it,” Loretta said when asked if she minded all the attention. “I have never met so many wonderful people. I never knew there were so many people that liked birds.” Loretta reported last seeing “Herman” on 1 December. “She had moved the feeder to a location in her back yard where it was both heated and protected from the wind,” Sherony reported in a posting on Genesee Birding. “She noticed that it fed all day Saturday (1 December). This was uncharacteristic of its previous habits. Then, Saturday night was quite still. The bird has not appeared since Saturday night, last seen at about 5 p.m.”

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