Wayne is quite right in pointing out that we do not have
enough data to make any firm claims about the nature of hummingbird
migration in British Columbia. And I do my best to present the
data without too much extrapolation.

I think there is something more complex going on in British
Columbia than the current database suggests. Coastal sites
like Nanaimo and Thetis Island consistantly record hummingbird
arrivals that are earlier then Vancouver or Victoria and fit
into the line between Puget Sound and Alaska quite well, but
we do not have observers at enough coastal sites further north
in BC for detailed comparisons.

The data from Clatsop County, based on mist-netted birds clearly
shows a bi-modal pattern for males and their is some evidence
(though not nearly enough) that the early peak represents older
males and the second peak (which overlaps the female peak) is
younger males. Wayne eludes to bi-modal patterns in saying that
males arrive ahead of females (certainly bi-modal in the sexual
sense).

http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/humm/clat_ruhu.html

As more observers contribute to the daily feeder counts in the
years to follow, we will hopefully be able to confirm or refute
the shape of the migration at most points along the flyway.

--
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