Rob & Tweets,
Even though my first Rufous Hummingbird of the year was at our
feeders (which we put up about two weeks before their arrival) I don't
expect to see one until the first Salmonberry flower opens. Here on Mt.
Pleasant in Skamania County, Flowering Currants open a couple of weeks
after the Salmonberries begin blossoming. We have planted quite a few
winter and early spring blooming shrubs but the birds don't arrive until
the native plants bloom.
I do think the first birds seen are the ones passing through as
we had one male at our feeders on March 6, and a female three days later,
they did not seem to stay around or act territorial. There was a space of
about three days when we saw no hummers here and today we have a male at
the feeder that is chasing everything that comes near the feeder.

Wilson Cady
N45 35.618' W122 13.738'
Washougal, WA
gorgebirds at juno.com

On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 10:38:13 -0800 "Rob Sandelin" <floriferous at msn.com>
writes:
I notice that all the reports are from feeders. I had our first rufous
of the year, on the Red Flowering currant, which is hardly just opening
the past few days. I wonder if human enticements like feeders change the
migratory patterns of these birds in terms of their timing. And, I also
wonder if the early sightings are birds heading north (they go all the
way to Alaska), and if populated areas with lots of feeders set them up
to move north too early, and once they get into the wilder areas without
feeders, if there is a problem, because they are ahead of their natural
food?

Rob Sandelin
Sky Valley Environments <http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm>
Field skills training for student naturalists
Floriferous at msn.com
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