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From: mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: hummingbird feeders and nectar
Message-ID: <41595@oliveb.olivetti.com>
Date: 9 May 89 03:04:22 GMT
References: <2806@lindy.Stanford.EDU> <1360@naucse.UUCP> <8306@ihlpf.ATT.COM> <10423@ihlpb.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@oliveb.olivetti.com
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In article <10423@ihlpb.ATT.COM>, kan@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Casali) writes:
 > >  > 
 > >  > When do hummingbirds show up in northern Illinois?
 > > 
 > > 	Probably early to mid April. They should remain until about
 > > early to mid October.
 > > 
 > > Mike
 > 
 > Wrong, 
 > They dont show up at the feeders until Memorial Day.
 > They disappear mid September. They must not be
 > able to take the cold nights. When I first fed them
 > I thought that I might wrongly encourge them to
 > stay if I did not remove the feeder. They were
 > smarter than that and just disappeared one September day.

	The intent of my posting was to indicate the extremes of the
time frame in which to expect appearances of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird
in the northern half of Illinois. I derived this range from the following
references:


Tyrell, "Hummingbirds, Their Life and Behavior"

	"Arrives in Alabama in late March, Long Island in mid April,
Washington, D.C. in mid April, New York in late April, Connecticut and
Massachusetts in early May, New Hampshire and Maine in early May, Quebec
and Montreal in late April to early May, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan
in mid May."
	"Leaves Manitoba in mid September, Iowa in early October, Illinois
in mid October, Tennessee in late October, and Louisiana in early November."


Bent, "Life Histories of North American ..., Hummingbirds and Their Allies"
	(choosing sightings from cities that are on a latitude that is
	equivalent or greater than northern Illinois and that represent the
	extreme.)

	Spring - early arrivals
		Philadelphia, Penn.  April 16
		Fort Wayne, Ind.  April 14
		Detroit, Mich.  April 28
		Toronto, Can.  April 12
		Minneapolis, Minn.  May 1

	Fall - late departures
		National, Iowa  October 4
		Keokuk, Iowa  October 23
		Detroit, Mich.  October 7
		Fort Wayne, Ind.  October 9
		Chicago, Ill.  October 13
		Philadelphia, Penn.  October 12


	Based on the cited references, I have no problems with the date
ranges given (perhaps the early date should have been mid to late April).
However, one certainly shouldn't expect to see birds with any degree of
abundance at these extremes. I can't argue with your dates from feeder
watching; however, perhaps a word of caution about feeder watching is in
order. From Bird Watcher's Digest, May/June 1989; from an article that
discusses declines in hummingbird populations based on feeder watching:

	"Here are some caveats against assuming that all apparent decreases
in hummer populations are examples of a real decline: As we have often
pointed out, hummers will desert feeding stations whenever favored nectar
sources are staging a mass bloom - and in some years certain bloomings
are more successful than in others. If a mass bloom is in progress when
the birds arrive from the South, they may not at first use feeding stations
at all, giving the impression to feeder watchers that they have not yet
arrived."

Mike