| Author | Content |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
12:30 AM Post #7232445
| I only have horrible pictures of this guy. He's been around the last few days. He has so much rust coloring that I'm just wondering if he's really a ruby-throated hummer. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
12:32 AM Post #7232448
| Here's another bad pic. 
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Burd_Fotos
Sandusky, OH
November 02, 2009
12:47 AM Post #7232487
| On your 2nd pic it could be a female or juvenile Rufous (according to my field guide). |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
01:23 AM Post #7232536
| I wondered. We do get Rufous here sometimes. Here's another pic, but it's very similar to the first one. I should try to find the photos that I took the other day. They were terrible too, but showed a rust color on its rump. It also seemed to have a shiny bronze spot on its throat but I didn't get a picture of that. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Resin
Northumberland
United Kingdom
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
09:55 AM Post #7233117
| Yep, looks good for Rufous; Allen's is also a possibility. I've brightened one of the pics, below.
If it sticks around, try to get some more pics, ideally one showing the tail fanned out.
Resin
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
10:14 AM Post #7233153
| If i don't get a picture of it, what should I be looking for on the fanned out tail? I don't have either Rufous or Allen's in my bird pic since they are not common in this area.
Thanks! |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
11:38 AM Post #7233427
| Shoot, I just looked out the window and two hummers were fighting. I hope my unusual visitor didn't get driven away. Come back here and fan your tail long enough for me to focus and click. Is that too much to ask? |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
November 02, 2009
06:32 PM Post #7234852
| Well, I have just about made myself crazy trying to get a fanned tailed pic of this hummer. She only comes to the feeder when it's shaded. Then she sits way up in the tree in the shade. I only saw her fan her tail once, and of course, I didn't get the shot. I didn't get any details with the naked eye either b/c all I saw was a flash of red. Even though she doesn't come to the feeders often, she's very aggressive chasing away sparrows and warblers. There was another hummer too, so I hope I'm still photographing the right one!
Here's as close as I got. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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aythya_americana
Perrysburg, OH
December 01, 2009
06:07 PM Post #7326047
| Look at the rufous on the sides of pictures #2 and #4. That's not a typical Ruby-Throat feature. |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
December 02, 2009
09:43 AM Post #7327855
| Yep, she's either a female Rufous or an Allen's. Still haven't gotten the fanned tail shot to tell which one she is. I think Rufous though b/c she dives in a "J" form.
She's still here this morning. It's suppose to get down to freezing on Saturday and we might even get snow. She'll probably realize she's not in Mexico and leave me. I was hoping she'd still be here when my parents visit. We'll see. |
Resin
Northumberland
United Kingdom
(Zone 9a)
December 02, 2009
02:53 PM Post #7328823
| Sticking around or a month, means she's very likely going to stay for the winter now. They can cope with quite severe cold, if the feeder is kept filled - someone (I fear I forget who) posted this pic on this forum a few years ago . . .
Resin
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
December 02, 2009
05:21 PM Post #7329340
| That's so funny and a relief!
I tried to get a pic of her today. I can't get one single good picture of her. I just want one even if I don't get the fanned tail. This was the best from this morning. Maybe when that vine freezes the camera will actually focus on the feeder but then there will be ugly dead vine behind it. It's always somethin'!
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Burd_Fotos
Sandusky, OH
December 03, 2009
01:46 AM Post #7330677
| Resin do you recall where that photo was taken? I get a kick out of seeing that picture. lol |
Resin
Northumberland
United Kingdom
(Zone 9a)
December 03, 2009
10:51 AM Post #7331236
| Dug out the details . . . it was in Lexington, Kentucky, in the 2003-2004 winter - I remembered, it wasn't on this forum (I wasn't on DG in 2004!). It came through a -20°C night, a day when it didn't get above -7°C, several heavy snowfalls, and an ice storm, all with no problem, and finally departed on spring migration on 24 March. They're tough!
Lots more pics of it here: http://home.insightbb.com/~bstaib1/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos... (click on 'Next 5' at the end of each page to see all of them)
Resin
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Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
December 03, 2009
12:36 PM Post #7331559
| With those temps, I wonder how they kept the nectar from freezing. I guess it's against the window, so that would keep it warm. I don't think it will be cold enough here to freeze the nectar in the feeders. I think I'll put out fresh warm nectar before dawn just to be sure. She shows up at the feeders when it's still almost dark outside. |
Burd_Fotos
Sandusky, OH
December 03, 2009
01:16 PM Post #7331697
| Wow! Much tougher than I expected! Thx for the link Resin! |
Resin
Northumberland
United Kingdom
(Zone 9a)
December 03, 2009
04:28 PM Post #7332073
| Think they had to take the nectar indoors at night (otherwise it would've been a rock-hard block of ice at -20 . . . that's colder than a household deep freezer!) and put it out again at first light.
Resin
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melody
Benton, KY
(Zone 7a)
 December 03, 2009
07:17 PM Post #7332615
| Hummer_girl had one hang around most of the winter one year too. She's a bit south of St. Louis in Jackson, MO. Seemed like she carried her feeder in at dusk and put it out at dawn. Climate very similar to Lexington. (I'm in between the two and a touch further south, but my hummers have all vamoosed by Nov 1) Hummer experts say you can rig a light bulb under the feeder to keep them from freezing, but I've never had the occasion to try it. |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
December 04, 2009
10:37 AM Post #7334430
| I'm already seeing snowflakes. This morning they upped the prediciton from "chance of snow" to "possibility of 3-5 inches!" I just hate it that all my plants are going to die for one night of freezing temps.
You used to be able to wrap christmas lights around plants to keep them warm, but now, they've made lights that don't heat up b/c they're safer. Total bummer for gardeners! |
