Hello hummingbirders, Keep your feeders out!! I know many awesome birders still out there who have yet to sign up. Please, if you're already leaving your feeders out, let me know! Remember this is OUR project- for and by the birders of Ohio. See map for details, and add you location- http://tinyurl.com/27qs4k7 Already, there are at least 13 reported Rufous Hummingbirds in the eastern US this fall, with two reports of Black-chinned Hummingbirds. PHOTOGRAPH ALL HUMMINGBIRDS!!! It may look like just a Ruby-throated, but Ohio has yet to record the near-identical Black-chinned Hummingbird. At least 15 other states in eastern US have recorded this species. At this point, 99% of all Ruby-throated Hummingbirds should be gone. This greatly increases your chances of seeing a rare species if you see a hummingbird. I don't know if it's more or less probable than a Ruby-throated. I picked a random year, 2002, and saw that Ohio had 13 reports of vagrant hummingbirds (9 Rufous, 3 unid'ed Selasphorus, 1 Calliope), with almost certainly many more undetected. So far we have 98 feeders across the state. How many will be visited by a rare hummingbird? It could be at your house! Of the participants, one feeder has had a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD since July, two have had RUFOUS/SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRDS in the past, one had an ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD last year, and another had an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD in 2005. If you'd like to participate in the state-wide effort, all we need is for you to maintain one or more feeders out until they freeze, and add yourself to this map: http://tinyurl.com/27qs4k7 If you don't have a Google account, email me, and I can add your location, which can be anonymously labeled. Thanks! Good birding, Sean P.S. I'm attaching my email from September 20th in case you didn't see it: Hello, This year, I'm maintaining feeders at 7 different locations around the town of Delaware until temperatures are steadily freezing (sometime November). It's a scheme in an attempt to better understand vagrant hummingbird patterns, and attract a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, or otherwise! I'm mapping where all my feeders are located on Google maps, at this link: http://tinyurl.com/27qs4k7 This is a plea to join me in this movement! It would mean the world to me to get as many people as possible on board. Here's all you have to do: 1. Maintain your feeders for as long as you can. Sometime in November is ideal, but later is good, too! 2. Go to the map above, and add a location of a known maintained feeder by following the instructions. Remember, it doesn't have to be your own house, just if you know of a maintained feeder somewhere. If for some reason you're unable to do this, you can email me your location so I can add it. Email = [log in to unmask] You may need a Google account to edit the map. If this is the case, and you don't have an account, please email me with the location you'd like to add. You can still view the map. 3. Report your vagrant hummingbirds! This is an effort to better understand the pattern of vagrant hummingbirds in the fall. Birders, this is OUR project. I may organize it, but itıs really only ~1% of the total effort that will go into it. Itıs all you. This effort has the potential to give EXTRAORDINARY data that ornithologists can use to assess what types of locations, if any, hummingbirds select when they end up in Ohio. Do they stick to rivers? Open areas? etc. When do they mostly arrive? What percentage of feeders in Ohio will get a vagrant hummer? The possibilities are endless. While we can start to answer some of these questions with previous records, a scientific effort is needed. Also, it'd be awesome to record more winter hummingbirds and more species! We know they're out there!! Here is Ohio's current list of vagrant hummingbirds: Anna's Hummingbird Green Violetear Allen's Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird Calliope Hummingbird This project has been undertaken by the state of Louisiana, and was a WILD success! Several years ago, Van Remsen, professor of Louisiana State University, was able to convince his neighbors, fellow birders, etc. across the state to leave their feeders up after the Ruby-throats had left. The result? HUMMINGBIRD BONANZA! It's not uncommon for some homes to host over 30 individual western hummingbirds! In addition to all of Ohio's hummingbirds, LA's state list includes: Green-breasted Mango Broad-billed Hummingbird Buff-bellied Hummingbird Blue-throated Hummingbird Magnificent Hummingbird Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Admittedly, Louisiana has a more suitable climate to hummingbirds, but that does not necessarily mean that they don't visit Ohio either. Isn't it very possible that the White-eared Hummingbird in MI last year came through Ohio? What about the dozens of records of Black-chinned Hummingbirds (would-be 1st state record) on the east coast? They're HERE!! We only need to put the effort forward. Also, it's common belief that leaving your feeders up will not "stop" Ruby-throateds on migration, so if you're worried about that please don't worry. Here's a page everyone should at least skim by Louisiana Bird Records Committee members: http://losbird.org/los_news_196_01dec3.htm#10 Again, we know they're out there- it's just a matter of stopping them at your house! I'm not sure how this project will turn out, but it would mean the world to me if you could just add your location(s) of a known maintained feeder. Thanks, and good birding! Sean --- Sean Williams, '11 Undergraduate of Ornithology of Dr. Jed Burtt Ohio Wesleyan University HWCC 724 Delaware, OH 43015 617-470-4094 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]