Mike, TWEETERS, OBOLinks, and Vancouver Birders,

I am always amazed at how early Rufous Hummers arrive in Oregon.
As you note, there is a major difference in arrival times between
Curry County and Astoria.
In Vancouver, B.C. the earliest report ever for Rufous Hummingbird
is Feb. 25; the AVERAGE arrival date (21 years' data) is March 20, and
there are a few years when none were seen till the first week of
April. However, the migration peak, every year, is in the last half of
April, often in the last week of April. The "early birds" arrive far
in advance of the main migratory push.
The arrival of Rufous Hummers in southwest B.C. seems to be timed
to the flowering of Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) and Red-flowering
Currant (Ribes sanguineum), whose flowers are major food sources for
hummers. Salmonberry is noted for its long flowering season, with some
plants always in bloom by late March, but most not reaching full bloom
till well into April. If most of the Rufous Hummers arrived here in
late March, they'd probably starve.

As for the other early spring migrants you mentioned, here are early
and average Vancouver arrival dates-- also significantly later than in
Oregon:

Tree Swallow (21 years' data)

Earliest arrival February 8
Average arrival February 27

Violet-green Swallow (21 years' data)

Earliest arrival February 21
Average arrival March 5

Turkey Vulture (18 years' data)

Earliest arrival March 9
Average Arrival April 4

Turkey Vultures, unlike Rufous Hummers and the 2 swallows, are
rare in spring at Vancouver. There is a wide spread in arrival dates,
in part because of the hit-or-miss likelihood of seeing one at all. On
Vancouver Island, where TUVUs are common, I'm sure they are always
there by the end of March.

A note concerning swallows: as with Rufous Hummers, the vanguard
arrive far in advance of the majority, which don't arrive until late
March or even April. At least in some years, there are concentrations
of thousands of both species in places like Elk Lake near Victoria,
but this doesn't happen until April.

I have to confess some envy of places where Rufous Hummingbirds
arrive in February. However, we British Columbians make up for our
relatively late springs in other ways. Birds such as Common Redpolls,
Snow Buntings, and even Gyrfalcons are little cause for excitement in
the winter. Gyrfalcons, for instance, are seen regularly most winters
around both Vancouver and Kamloops.

Finally, I must echo Kelly Cassidy's admiration for your feeder.
What kind of bait do you use to bring in swallows and Turkey
Vultures?? :-)

Wayne Weber
114-525 Dalgleish Drive
Kamloops, B.C. V2C 6E4
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca



-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Patterson <celata at pacifier.com>
To: Member7179 at aol.com <Member7179 at aol.com>; tweeters
<tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Saturday, February 05, 2000 7:23 AM
Subject: Re: Northwest Hummingbirds


>
>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
>