Bill,

Thank you for your kind words! I should consider renting an apartment in
Columbus for the next month so I can get to these birds faster ;) Two or
three Rufous/Allen's have already apparently departed, so remain
unidentified (two have photos, one in Fairborn may still be present but I
haven't heard from Marie in a while to confirm). I don't know if the North
Olmsted adult male Rufous is still on site, and the lingering bird at Black
Swamp Bird Observatory remains unconfirmed to species as far as I know.

While the number of these birds is not yet a record for Ohio (the 6 so far
in Michigan IS a record), surely the PACE of the reports is on track for a
record as typically I get most reports from late November into mid-December!

While the identification of these birds is a useful byproduct of the
banding I've been doing in 3 states (MI, OH, IN) since 2001, we are also
learning quite a bit about their site fidelity, age and sex ratios, and
especially (my favorite topic), their molt patterns which is currently
rather poorly known.

Thank you to everyone who has reported these birds in the past, and in the
future too!

--
Allen T. Chartier
Inkster, Michigan
Email: [log in to unmask]
Website: www.amazilia.net
Blog: http://mihummingbirdguy.blogspot.com/

On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 10:38 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> It sounds like over a dozen rarer (i.e., not ruby-throated) hummingbirds
> have been reported in Ohio this fall, which is a pretty nice but not yet
> a record number.
>        Most of the necessary indecisiveness about IDs has involved rufous
> vs.
> Allen's hummingbirds, close relatives which can be separated this late
> in the year only by very lucky photos of the spread tail, or
> millimeter-scale measurements taken in the hand of captured birds.
>        Historically, most late November birds in Ohio have been identified
> as
> rufous hummingbirds; only one has been confirmed as an Allen's, and most
> nearly all the rest have been ruby-throats (we've had one in this county
> as late as 30 Nov, and another was seen in or near Toledo on 1
> December).  Rufous/Allen's can more easily be separated from
> ruby-throats by good photos.
>        Out of all the unusual hummingbirds carefully examined in Ohio we
> have
> had many rufous, one Calliope hummer, one green violet-ear, one Anna's
> hummer, and one Allen's. Those rufous hummers have been by far the most
> likely, coming to our attention mostly by showing up late in the year,
> well beyond the average late occurrences of our native hummer.
>        Odd-ball fall/winter hummers in non-breeding plumage are often
> difficult to identify conclusively. It has been shown that hummingbirds
> of several species will come to feeders in Ohio well into December, even
> beyond, and the later you see one, the more likely it is to be something
> unusual!
>        This is a good occasion to honor the contributions of Allen
> Chartier,
> Michigan bander and hummingbird authority who has contributed his
> expertise, time and money, and attention to Ohio hummingbirds for over a
> decade. He has made scores of trips to Ohio to capture and verify
> identifications, answered innumerable queries from us about these birds,
> and kept careful records of his local findings (over a dozen this fall).
> We all know a lot more about these birds because of his help.
> Bill Whan
> Columbus
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________**______________________________**__________
>
> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>
> You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/**scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS<http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS>
> Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
>

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]