Tweeters & Inland Birders,

I'm surprised that the arrival dates for hummingbirds in Othello are
as late as Bob and Randy say they are. At Prince George, BC, hundreds
of miles farther north, both species regularly arrive before the end
of April. This year, for example, the first Rufous was seen there on
April 20, and the first Calliope on April 24. In fact, a Rufous was
seen on April 20 even farther north, at Fort St. James on Stuart Lake.

It should be noted that Prince George is a darn cold place as well,
with a July mean temperature of 58 F (compared with 77 F at Ephrata
or Moses Lake).

I don't suppose either species of hummer breeds around Othello. Could
it be that hummers showing up there, and elsewhere in the mid-Columbia
Basin, are stragglers off the main migration track, and that most of
them go through the east slope of the Cascades or through Idaho?

Maybe Mike Patterson, our regional expert on hummingbird migration,
has some thoughts about this.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC, Canada
contopus at telus.net


----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Flores <rflores at smwireless.net>
To: <hill at smwireless.net>; TWEETERS <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 8:35 PM
Subject: Re: hummers, items left at Crane Festival


Randy's rufous is the earliest I have seen in Othello, I have the 27th
as the previous early date. Also never had I had a calliope before
May (the 1st of May being the earliest). Once again a sign of early
migration this year.

Bob Flores
Othello,WA


----- Original Message -----
From: Hill
To: TWEETERS
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 7:36 PM
Subject: hummers, items left at Crane Festival


Had both Rufous and Calliope Hummingbirds (males) at my backyard
feeder during the last 15 minutes. Monday had a female Rufous.

If anybody lost a padded Bushnell scope case while attending the
Crane Festival last month, please contact me privately.

Note my new e-mail address and erase hill at cbnn.net from your memory.

Randy Hill
Othello
hill at smwireless.net