Johnson City Rufous Female Receives Band

Katherine Noblet of Johnson City, Tennessee, is one of those lucky individuals with repeated wintering hummingbird visitors.  This year, she has a Rufous female wintering in her yard and frequenting the two nectar feeders she makes available.  

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

Mark Armstrong, Master Bander of hummingbirds and songbirds from Knoxville, Tennessee visited her home on November 26th to trap and band the hummingbird for a positive identification of the species and to record the birds health, age and other identifying characteristics.  

Above and below, you see Mark setting the trap on a portable table in the area where the feeder normally hangs.  The pink ribbon you see at the bottom left of the trap marks the bottom of the trap door that he raises and lowers with fishing wire.  He will next place the feeder inside the trap (shown below), raise the door by holding it up with the fishing wire, and position himself away from the feeder, releasing the door when the hummer goes inside to feed.

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

Once the hummingbird goes inside, the door is lowered, the hummer is removed and briefly placed in a mesh bag until Mark is in position to band it.  Below, Kathy Noblet takes a close look at the hummer she has been watching and photographing since November 11th.  Janie Kading, Mark's wife and recording assistant holds the hummer.

Mark is skillful and efficient with his work, placing the band on the hummingbird's leg, while Jane records the band number and the measurements obtained.   The examination process lasts about ten minutes.

Below, Mark takes a wing measurement.  Wing measurements can distinguish species, as well as, distinguish males from females.  The female Allen's species looks very similar to the female Rufous and the two are hard to distinguish in the field.  They both have green feathers on their backs and rufous in their tail feathers.  Wing measurements and width and shape of tail feathers are two distinguishing characteristics that separate the two species.

A tail measurement is taken below.  The Rufous species breeds in northwestern North America, in Idaho, Oregon and north to Alaska, and primarily winters in northern and central Mexico.

Wintering hummingbirds reported in the southeastern United States in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee have been documented since 1988 by Bob and Martha Sargent of the Hummer Study Group.  Their records show a rapid increase in the number of wintering hummingbirds, as well as, a "clumping" distribution in the southeastern states.

Above, Mark examines the beak to help determine the age of the bird.  Grooving in the beak indicates a juvenile bird, while no grooving indicates a mature bird.  Kathy's Rufous female is a mature bird.  Below, you see the Rufous coloration and shape of the tail feathers, helping to confirm that this individual is a Rufous female.  

Kathy's location in Johnson City, Tennessee, is one of the areas that is attracting wintering hummingbirds that migrate from western breeding areas.  In 2008 she had a male Rufous and the first Calliope recorded in the area.  Again in 2011, she had an immature male Rufous that frequented her feeders from October 21-December 13. This year she had a Rufous visit briefly November 1st, and the female pictured here, arrived November 11th and continues to visit her feeders.

Not all of the hummingbirds that are sighted in Tennessee will remain here.  Many Rufous Hummingbirds are also being reported in North Carolina.

Above, you can see the gorget feathers that appear on this female's throat.  Each individual female has its own arrangement and number of gorget feathers.

Above and below, Mark places the hummer in Kathy's hand for release.  True to the nature of many Rufous individuals, she remains still until she recognizes she is free.

Kathy's photo below shows the female perched in a nearby tree just after release.

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

The female visited a feeder soon after her banding session and the photo below shows her visiting the porch feeder later in the day.  Kathy has a creative blind that she has made from foam core board, the backing often used for framing art.  She cut the board to a size that slides into the frame of her storm door windows, and added an opening equipped with a curtain through which she can insert her camera lens.  This allows her to photograph the hummer from inside the house without disturbing it and without the obstruction of window panes.  Her blinds have allowed her to obtain beautiful images of the hummingbird as it visits her nectar feeders.

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

Links and Resources:

Previous reports on Katherine Noblet's wintering hummingbirds
Western Hummingbirds Wintering in Tennessee
In recent years, fourteen species of hummingbirds have been documented in the east during fall and winter months.  In east Tennessee, report sightings to Mark Armstrong at Woodthrush@bellsouth.net or 865-748-2224.  For a list of contact information for other eastern areas, visit winter reporting on the Hummingbird Study Group website or report sightings to Bob and Martha Sargent, Rubythroat@aol.com or 205-681-2888.
Other blog posts on Wintering hummingbirds in Tennessee
Visit Bob Sargent's information on wintering hummingbirds
Bob Sargent describes the Rufous Hummingbird as very cold-hardy.
Sargent on wintering Calliopes and the Allen's Hummingbird
Hummingbird banding
Hummingbirds in watercolor
Hummingbird art on Vickie's Sketchbook blog

Johnson City Hummer is a Hardy Bird!

After high winds yesterday of up to 45 mph and an early morning low of 23°F,  the probable Rufous female hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) at the home of Katherine Noblet, in Johnson City, has weathered the cold front just fine.

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

Last night Katherine reported on TN-Bird:  "My hummer is roosting in the interior of a large holly shrub that is about 6 feet from my feeder.  She is feeding about every 15 minutes and looks cold and nervous.  I think she will probably spend the night in the holly.  The shot in the holly is taken through several panes of glass and it is very low light!"

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

This morning Katherine sent the images below with the message:  "Alive and alert."

 

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

In his October presentation about wintering hummingbirds, Master hummingbird bander, Mark Armstrong, described wintering Rufous hummers that he has banded as healthy, molting and growing new feathers, having a good level of fat, and clearly fairing very well in the east Tennessee winter climate. These hummers depend on natural sources of nectar, insects, and tree sap to sustain their diet in the winter.

Photo credit:  Katherine Noblet

Rufous hummingbirds are the most common hummingbirds found in Tennessee in the fall and winter months, but you typically will not see them unless you leave a nectar feeder out.  Mark says that there are always hummingbirds that stray from the traditional migration route, but the numbers of Rufous hummingbirds found in the east does not fit a random or accidental picture.  In 2011-2012, over 500 Rufous hummingbirds were banded in Alabama and Northern Florida, and 400 in Louisianna. In east Tennessee, Mark personally banded 20 Rufous Hummingbirds in the 2012-2013 winter season. 

Bob Sargent has been banding Rufous hummingbirds in the east since the 1980's and his research suggests that a hardy strain of Rufous Hummingbirds is developing that is genetically programmed to winter in the southeast.  The Rufous species traditionally breeds in the northwest, and migrates through the southwest to winter in Mexico.

Links and Resources:

Nov 11, 2013 report on Western Hummingbirds Wintering in Tennessee
Fourteen species of hummingbirds have been documented in the east during fall and winter months.  In east Tennessee, report sightings to Mark Armstrong at Woodthrush@bellsouth.net or 865-748-2224.  For a list of contact information for other eastern areas, visit winter reporting on the Hummingbird Study Group website or report sightings to Bob and Martha Sargent, Rubythroat@aol.com or 205-681-2888.
Other blog posts on Wintering hummingbirds in Tennessee
Visit Bob Sargent's information on wintering hummingbirds
Bob Sargent describes the Rufous Hummingbird as very cold-hardy.
Sargent on wintering Calliopes and the Allen's Hummingbird
Hummingbird banding
Hummingbirds in watercolor
Hummingbird art on Vickie's Sketchbook blog

A Rufous Hummingbird in East Tennessee

I receive emails from our Tennessee bird club's list service so I can see what kind of bird activity is going on around the state.  This is especially fun during migration season and the winter months.  Though, I seldom travel to the places where unusual birds are sighted, it does give me opportunity to get to know the birds that are in my area of the state--in this case a rare for our area Rufous hummingbird.

Photo by:  Katherine Noblet, Johnson City, TN

Rufous hummingbirds do not breed or winter in the east, however, in recent years we are seeing them more frequently.  The Rufous hummingbird pictured above is currently visiting Katherine Noblet's yard in Johnson City, TN in Carter County.  That is about two hours northeast of where I live in Knoxville, in the Tennessee valley near the Smoky Mountains.  But it certainly stirs excitement and anticipation.  This is motivation and a reminder to everyone to leave a feeder out and stay alert for both late Ruby-throats and other migrating hummingbird species that you might otherwise not expect.  

Besides visiting the nectar feeder, Katherine reports that the Rufous visitor is feeding on pineapple sage and skip laurel blooms.    

Links and resources:

Visit this link to learn about how bird banding has helped us find out more about hummingbird migration.  Some migration patterns are changing.

The range map to the left is from Cornell's web page on the Rufous hummingbird.  Visit the link to learn more about this species and its habits.

You may also want to visit the Hummingbird Study Group for more information about this species and other hummingbirds.

Report sightings of hummingbirds in the east after November 1st to Bob and Martha Sargent, Rubythroat@aol.com or 205-681-2888.  In east Tennessee, report sightings to Mark Armstrong, 865-748-2224.

For more of my posts on our eastern breeding Ruby-throated hummingbirds click the link.