Photo Study Of The Banding Of A First Winter, Female, Rufous Hummingbird In Bucks County, PA, December 15-16, 2010

    A Selasphorus Hummingbird has been hanging around the yard and feeders of Barb and Dick Sullivan in Yardley, Pa for the past week. We were able to see and photograph
    it yesterday and today. Scott Weidensaul came over this afternoon and trapped, banded and then released this beautiful little visitor from the West Coast of North America.
    Until Scott had it in hand, we couldn't tell for certain if it was an Allen's or a Rufous.

  
First Winter, Female, Rufous Hummingbird

    The Rufous Hummingbird ((Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird about 3 inches in length with a long, straight and very slender bill. Like all hummingbirds, the female is     slightly larger than the male. They feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendible tongue or catch insects on the wing. These birds require frequent feeding while active
    during the day and become torpid at night to conserve energy.Their breeding habitat includes open areas and forest edges in western Northern America from as far north as
    Denali NP and Fairbanks in central Alaska to northern California. This bird nests further north than any other hummingbird. The female builds a nest in a protected location
    in a shrub or conifer. Both males and females aggressively defend feeding locations within their territory. The same male may mate with several females. They are migratory,
    many of them migrating through the Rocky Mountains and nearby lowlands in July and August to take advantage of the wildflower season there. They may stay in one spot for     considerable time, in which case the migrants, like breeding birds, often aggressively take over and defend feeding locations. Most winter in wooded areas in the Mexican state
    of Guerrero, traveling over 2,000 miles by an overland route from its nearest summer home...a prodigious journey for a bird weighing only three or four grams. This is the
    western hummingbird most likely to stray into eastern North America.  The core wintering area for this new eastern-wintering population extends from the Florida panhandle
    and adjacent areas of Georgia west to Louisiana and east Texas. Climate change and habitat change, as well as feeders, play a role - many of them overwinter without using
    feeders, and we've had several in October/Decenber. in PA that eschewed feeders for natural food supplies. They are surprisingly hardy, able to tolerate temperatures down to
    at least -4°F. (Cornell BNA; Wikipedia; Sibley Guide To Birds; Scott Weidensaul)

    For comparative purposes, below are photos of two other western hummingbirds recently banded by Scott here in Pennsylvaina:

 
Lititz, PA Allen's Hummingbird                                                                                             Shartlesville, PA Anna's Hummingbird

    To see a larger image of this beautiful first Winter, female Rufous Hummingbird as it moved around the Sullivan's property, please click on either the thumbnails or captions     below...thanks!

     Scott Weidensaul was able to trap and band this neat little hummingbird today.

    To see the banding process please click on the images below in sequence...thanks!

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