Northwest Hummingbirds ARRIVE by mid-February. Average
arrival for the south coast of Oregon is February 6;
mid-coast of Oregon is February 15 and they reach the
Columbia River as early as February 21. Anna's Hummingbird
is already here. They are going through what could be
described as breeding activity in many of the sites
throughout Oregon from which they have been reported.
Most breeding records for Anna's in Hummingbirds have
them sitting on eggs by the first week in March.

Defining spring based upon the position of the sun is
something astronomers do. Defining spring by the behavior
of plants and animals is what ecologists and biologists do.

If you wait until March 21 to put up your feeder, you'll
have missed the peak for hummingbirds, swallows and (I
think) Turkey Vultures: the three species by which I have
gauged the arrival of spring for the last 27 years.

Member7179 at aol.com wrote:
>
> Don't forget 2 very important things we must get thru before spring is here:
> February and March!
> We may not have seen our Y 2,000 winter yet!
> Just a thought, good Birding.
>
> Gordon Wright
> member7179 at aol.com
> Sumner,WA

--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html