[mou] Sheri Williamson weighs in on the hummingbird

[Laura Erickson]

Sheri Williamson (author of the Peterson hummingbird field guide) was out 
of town when I wrote to her about the hummingbird coming to my feeder.  She 
answered me yesterday:  "I'm solidly with Don (Mitchell) on this being an 
adult female, based on the relatively large gorget patch with small, oval 
iridescent areas on feathers around its edge (they'd be big and round in an 
immature male) and the amount and distribution of white in the tail (more 
than typical for juvenile males). I also agree with Don that the slight 
emargination at the tip of R2 (more a subtle "nipple" than a distinct 
notch) indicates Rufous. In this age/sex category, I'd expect much narrower 
tail feathers than this bird shows, though, as Don suggests, eyeballing 
rectrix width is tricky business except for individuals near the far ends 
of their respective bell curves. Still, I'd have no qualms about 
recommending that this bird be accepted into the state records as a Rufous."

Sheri added some points about feeding, and about when she might move on: 
"Warming the solution is a great idea (she won't have to use as many 
calories to bring each sip up to her body temperature), but I'd strongly 
advise switching to 1:3 or even slightly stronger as soon as possible 
(though with a weaker solution in a second feeder nearby so that she has a 
choice). Though she's in primary molt and could use some protein, what she 
needs most right now is to store some fat so that she can move on if/when 
her instincts tell her to. The fact that this is an adult bird suggests 
that she's successfully passed at least one winter somewhere south or east 
of you. My suspicion is that she was headed there when she "ran out of gas" 
and got stuck around the only reliable energy source she could find. If you 
bump up the caloric content of the feeder solution, she may be able to tip 
her energy balance back toward having enough excess to rebuild some fat 
deposits."

The hummingbird was at the feeder on and off all day, with the high 
temperature 39.  She last appeared in the upstairs window feeder at 2:44 pm.

I'd like to thank Val Cunningham for keeping birders abreast of the news 
about her, and my mother-in-law for keeping the feeders filled and 
fresh.  I'll be updating the webpage tonight, so if anyone has photos 
they'd like me to add to the collection, please send them.

Laura Erickson
Duluth, MN

NOTE address change: bluejay@lauraerickson.com

Producer, "For the Birds" radio program
<http://www.lauraerickson.com/>

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of 
birds.  There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of 
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

                                 --Rachel Carson