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Hummer sightings and notes from my Valrico FL yard.

Friday, July 3, 2009

First Hummer of the Season
I saw my first hummer of the summer/fall season. It was a young bird, most likely post-breeding dispersal from a local brood. True migration begins when we start seeing adult males.
3 jul 09 @ 6:22 pm est

Friday, May 29, 2009

FloridaHummingbirds.net and Forum
Please stop by my page at http://www.floridahummingbirds.net/ . It has been created in hopes of being able to encourage more to learn about the different species that may be encountered in Florida as well as to improve the reporting of hummingbirds in the state.
 
A very important part of this site is a forum at: http://floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/ . Please check it out. I encourage all to register with the site as ther are some benefits to being logged in if you post. I'm not requiring it in hopes of making it as easy as possible for everyone so that we don't miss any reports.
 
Whether you log in or not, please report any sightings to the forum. The success of the forum depends on everyone. I can create the floridahummingbirds.net pages but I can not post enough sightings to make it work.
 
Thank you for your input.
 
Steve Backes
29 may 09 @ 2:31 pm est

End of the Season - May 4th
The last of the banded hummingbirds from this past winter departed on May 4th. A couple of healthy males were seen on the 2nd and the one with the damaged bill was last seen on the 3rd.
 
The yard is fairly dead as far as bird life goes so I've stopped feeding the squirrels. It's time to rebuild after the fallen tree and freeze damage.
 
I will try to be prompt when announcing the arrival of new birds in the summer. I expect to be seeing them by late June to early July. It has been as late as the last week of July before I've seen them here.
29 may 09 @ 2:16 pm est

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

floridahummingbirds.net
I've started a new Website at http://floridahummingbirds.net .
 
It's still in the development stages but I have gone live with it hoping to begin accumulating data. I'm hoping to get enough traffic on the site from people with hummingbirds, that will add comments to the blog regarding their numbers and approximate location, to begin to build a database of where and when we can expect to see hummingbirds. These comments in turn will provide others the opportunity to see where birds are being seen and possibly encourage them towards further efforts to attract hummingbirds.
 
I've also opened the door to asking other questions that in time may be answered by other visitors to the site. I know about the birds in my area and what they like but I can't really speak for other areas of the state. Hopefully, we'll be able to attract other "local" experts to advise on their locations.
 
It's also got a photo album which I would like to use to share everyone's photos. I'm in the process of developing a "Species" page and need decent photos submitted of each species in each of their plumages to be incuded on this page. Other plans are being evaluated.
 
Please stop by the site and give me your thoughts. Post them under the appropriate post or e-mail them to me at backes1@verizon.net
21 apr 09 @ 2:13 pm est

Other Interesting Birds
In addition to the hummingbirds in the yard this year, we finished off with two surpises. The first, the female Painted Bunting, stayed around until mid-April. The second bird was a male Painted Bunting who showed on April 15th, returning to the feeder all day but then was not seen again. A number of Indigo Buntings have visited the feeders throughout the spring.
21 apr 09 @ 1:56 pm est

Departure of the Two Rufous 3/15 and 3/21
Busy times and sick times have resulted in over a month without posts. There has actually been lots to post about. This one is to announce the departure of the two Rufous.
 
The old female, believed to be the one banded in 2003, left on March 15th, the same day she was last seen the past two years. She didn't have any long absences prior to this day. There were maybe a day or two when I had little time to watch for her that she went unseen but they weren't even days in a row.
 
The other female Rufous was last seen on March 20th, the day before the first day of spring.
 
May they have safe migrations, successful summers and come back again in August for another winter season.
21 apr 09 @ 1:37 pm est

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Much of the Same
Many of the hummingbirds are still around but the activity has slowed considerably. I must not be seeing any new birds as the ones that are here seem to be getting along. The two Rufous are still here. I saw the female Painted Bunting yesterday along with a male Indigo Bunting but have not seen them today. A chickadee was seen and heard a couple of days ago.
3 mar 09 @ 5:30 pm est

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Fewer Birds Around
Activity has slowed over the past two weeks. Some of the regulars appear to have departed as temperatures warmed up last week while the others are still here but much less noticeable. I can't necessarily walk the yard and find the 13+ regulars although if I walk it enough in one day, I will find most of them. I believe it's a lack of "other" birds that has them comfortable and not in defensive mode. A number of the "regular perches" have changed as leaves have dropped after the last frost which also makes itr hard to find them if they're perching. They seem to spend more time higher in the oaks. 
 
The only non-hummer bird of note in the yard has been a female Painted Bunting that's been around for the past 4 days.
15 feb 09 @ 9:01 am est

Monday, February 2, 2009

February 1st Banding
Doreen went to Lakeland first to band the Allen's and had it in the trap within 15 seconds of setting the trap. The homeonwer wanted to video the process but the bird was trapped before he could get the camera ready.

Not as much luck here. We were unable to coax the Rufous into the trap in 45 minutes of trying. We did manage to catch 5 Ruby-throateds during that time. We moved the trap to the front yard and caught 5 more Ruby-throateds. Ten Ruby-throateds for the day.

Added to these ten birds, I still have the two Rufous around along with the other 4 Ruby-throateds banded in the past two months for 16 banded birds in my yard. There are still at least one unbanded female Archilochus, a couple of young Ruby-throats and probably at least one adult male Ruby-throat. 
2 feb 09 @ 10:06 pm est

Saturday, January 31, 2009

20 Hummingbird Day
On Wednesday, I counted at least 20 different individual hummingbirds using my feeders. The past couple of days have produced at least 13 birds typically perched in sites easily observed. A couple of others have been spotted attempting to use feeders but not sitting in the yard.
 
The male Allen's is still being seen in Lakeland so Doreen will be coming back to Florida to band soon. Hopefully, we'll get a better look at a couple of my birds that may be Black-chinneds. 
 
A possible Western Tanager was reported yesterday by a neighbor so I'll be watching closely for it. I've put out cut oranges in hopes of attracting to an area where it can be easily viewed.
31 jan 09 @ 7:11 am est

2009.07.01 | 2009.05.01 | 2009.04.01 | 2009.03.01 | 2009.02.01 | 2009.01.01 | 2008.12.01 | 2008.11.01 | 2008.10.01 | 2008.09.01 | 2008.08.01 | 2008.02.01 | 2008.01.01 | 2007.12.01 | 2007.11.01 | 2007.10.01 | 2007.09.01 | 2007.08.01 | 2007.07.01 | 2007.05.01 | 2007.03.01 | 2007.02.01 | 2007.01.01 | 2006.12.01 | 2006.11.01 | 2006.10.01 | 2006.09.01 | 2006.08.01

Link to web log's RSS file

Click on dates above to view archived entries.

Questions or comments?
E-mail me at: Backes1@verizon.net

Invitation to Visit
 
My yard is open to anyone who would like the chance to see the birds and other wildlife it offers. I only ask that you call at
813-689-9967 or e-mail me at backes1@verizon.net ahead of time if possible.  
 
Maps to my yard can be found at:
 
 

Summary of Hummingbirds Banded in My Yard:
 
January 2002
Rufous
After Second Year Female
Black-chinned -
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated -
After Hatching Year Female
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
 
January 2003
Rufous
Second Year Female
 
November 2003
Rufous
After Hatching Year Female
Rufous
After Hatching Year Male
 
January 2004
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
 
January 2005
Rufous - 
After Second Year Female
(Originally banded 11/2003)
Black-chinned -
After Hatching year Female (1)
Black-chinned -
After Hatching year Female (2)
Black-chinned -
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male
 
August 2005
Rufous - 
After Second Year Female
(Believed to be the bird originally banded 11/2003 - Not confirmed)
 
November 2005
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
 
January 2006
Ruby-throated
After Hatching Year Female
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male (1)
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male (2)
Ruby-throated - 
Second Year Male (3)
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male (4)
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male (5)
 
August 2006
Rufous - 
After Second Year Female
(Originally banded 11/2003 - Confirmed by photo of 3 numbers on band)
 
January 2007
Rufous - 
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male
 
January 2008
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male
Rufous - 
After Second Year Female
(Originally banded 11/2003)
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Female
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male
 
December 2008
Rufous
After Second Year Female
Rufous
After Second Year Female
(Assumed to be the one originally banded 11/2003 - but not yet confirmed)
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male - Deformed bill
 
January 2009
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male - Bad bill injury
 
February 2009
Ruby-throated
After Hatching Year Female - x3
Ruby-throated
Second Year Male - x4
Ruby-throated
After Second Year Male -x3
 
Totals:
Rufous - 6
Black-chinned - 4
Ruby-throated - 35
Return Birds - 5 (Same individual 5 years)

A Few Photos of Hummers That Have Passed Through My Yard

Adult female Rufous Aug. 2006 - banded Nov. 2003

Adult female Rufous 8/2006 banded 11/2003

Adult male Rufous Humingbird banded Nov. 2003

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird banded Jan. 2005

Im. Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird banded  Jan. 06