Winter Hummer Update

Fred Bassett writes....

Fellow Hummer Lovers,

The Link to see the albino Ruby-throated I banded on 28 September is http://www.pbase.com/fdietrich/albino

My much more computer savvy friend, Fred Dietrich, was nice enough to post the pictures for me. We're off to a good start for the season with significant returns of my previously banded hummers. While at Ft Morgan for fall banding, I snuck off on 15 Oct to try to catch Claire Krusko's sixth year return Rufous and got beat like a drum when she teased me but wouldn't quite go in my trap. On my way back to the fort, I stopped by Maud Skiba's home in Magnolia Springs to see about a Black-chinned Maud had reported. The adult male Black-chinned was much more cooperative. It made my day to discover it was my first fourth year return Black-chinned. I banded it 25 Feb 2005 down the street at Reva & Burt Hinson's home. The rain, mosquitoes, and lack of birds ran us out of Fort Morgan on 18 Oct, and I stopped in Loxley at Claire's home and finally tricked her sixth year return female Rufous, Lil Darlin, into my trap. It was great Claire was home to get to hold her very special hummer again. On 25 Oct I went to Tallahassee to talk about hummers and caught Fran Rutkovsky's second year return male Rufous.
I banded my first Rufous of the season 11 Nov at the home of Billie Jones near Luverne, AL and then headed to the coast to see what I could find. On 12 Nov in Spanish Fort, I banded a female Rufous at Gail & Eric Yance's home and went to Pensacola to band a Ruby-throated at Vickie and Ron Parker's home. At first light the next morning, I caught Kay Keighley's female Rufous back for the third winter. It was a treat to get that bird, since she would have nothing to do with me on two previous attempts. That afternoon in Tallahassee, I banded adult female Ruby-throated and Rufous hummers in the great hummer yard of Jody Elliott and Claudia Mason [they live in Killearn..Andy]. Before leaving Tallahassee on 14 Nov, I caught Fred & Patty Dietrich's second year return female Rufous. I stopped in Hartford, AL on the way home to catch another second year return female Rufous at Dick Mowbray's home.
Early on 16 Nove, I zipped over to Columbus, GA to band a female Ruby-throated at Kristi Watkins home and went to Mobile on 17th. I struck out at a couple of homes where hummers were more interested in an abundance of great hummer plants, but the beautiful second year return Buff-bellied at Sandra & Peter Kerr's home made the long trip worth every minute and mile. On 19 Nov, I went to Georgiana, AL to band another Ruby-throated.
I'm getting more reports of hummers as cooler weather brings them to feeders. I expect to get busy after Thanksgiving, so please keep an eye on your feeder and let me know if one shows up at your home.

Thanks

Fred




IF YOU HAVE A WINTER HUMMER WE CAN CONTACT FRED FOR YOU, JUST LET US KNOW.