All photos taken at one of Bosque Bill's backyard feeders on the morning of July 22, 2007; A male and female Rufous, a male Calliope, and about 16 - 20 Black-chinned Hummingbirds can be seen simultaneously during prime, mid-July, evening feeding time. See note on hummingbird migration, below. Comments and/or corrections appreciated - use email link above. |
Feeder most preferred by my birds: |
I wondered why the Rufous and Calliope birds didn't show up until mid-July. Then I was reading the book by Albuquerque resident and hummingbird expert, Dan True, Hummingbirds of North America: Attracting, Feeding, and Photographing
Very briefly, in the summer there is often a high pressure center over the Great Basin in the western U.S. Since the hummers are smart they prefer to migrate with a tail wind. That wind circulation matches the migration pattern of some of the western species, especially Rufous. This brings them up along the west coast in the spring to their nesting grounds in Montana, then as summer progresses many birds, including Calliopes, follow the circulation down through the intermountain states and ultimately to Mexico/Central America for the winter.
Mr. True includes an appendix which includes the timing of hummingbird migration for many states and areas. For Albuquerque (Rio Grande Valley), the earliest reported arrival, April 2, Black-chinned; April 8, Broad-tailed; July 14, Rufous; July 13, Calliope. Latest departures: Sept 18, Calliope; Sept 30, Rufous; Oct 3, Broad-tailed; and Oct 5, Black-chinned.
