[CT Birds] Scott's Oriole -- What will happen next?

[Mark Szantyr]

Having banded about 25 Rufous Hummingbirds in New England and 1 Calliope, I 
have a vested interest in what happens to these little guys.  Weather, 
unless it gets below zero for many nights in a row or stays well below 
freezing for many days in a row, seems not to be an issue for survival for 
these birds as long as there is an adequate food supply.  Adequate food 
supply means not only unfrozen nectar, but adequate protein in the form of 
insects or protein additatve to nectar. When I band them, and though not 
every one has been weighed, the trend is that they are all healthy, 
averaging at about 3 to 4 grams...just what they should be.  I usually band 
them shortly after their arrival ( or shortly after I hear about them!) 
Their general condition is likewise usually very good.  It is inevitable 
that many of these birds that tried to winter in CT have not succeeded.  But 
amazingly, several have gone deep into the winter and then have gone missing 
at about the same time...right about the middle to end of February ( 
occasionally earlier).  This, also amazingly, coincides with their normal 
migration timing from Mexico into the western United States.  Bent lists the 
early arrival dates in California as the second two weeks of February.  This 
winter is not an extraordinarily tough one for hummingbirds.  A bird in 
Glastonbury stayed till mid-January and then left.  A coastal bird is still 
attending a feeder.  There is still a bird at a feedr in Massachusetts. I 
suspect these will leave with the first available favorable conditions. 
Typical pre-migratory behavior is very active feeding for a few days,  early 
morning active feeding and then disappearance late morning on the day of 
departure.  It is likely that these migrants survive on the still plentiful 
insect life available in the wild.  We know that many survive because there 
are banded birds that return to southeastern feeders year after year. We had 
one likely return but were unable to capture the already banded hummingbird. 
I am beginning to believe that most of the Rufous Hummingbirds that we get 
here in the winter actually do make it to migrate out in the very early 
spring ( February as early spring....where do I live!).  A few more degrees 
of global warming and I think this will cease to be an issue at all.

Mark
Mark S.Szantyr
80 Bicknell Road
Apt. 9
Ashford, CT 06278
USA

Birddog55 at Charter.net
860-487-9766
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Asprelli" <aspr82 at sbcglobal.net>
To: <ctbirds at lists.ctbirding.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 7:38 PM
Subject: [CT Birds] Scott's Oriole -- What will happen next?


>I find it difficult to imagine that the Rufous and Calliope Hummingbirds 
>escaped Ct last winter and survived. As I recall they were coming to the 
>feeder every 15 or 20 minutes to feed. I can't believe they would survive 
>very long with any great distance to travel.
>  Phil Asprelli
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