Interesting observations today. This AM was such non-stop action at the hummingbird feeder that I did have to refill it about noon. Feeder activity continued in earnest until smoke from area fires descended into the Snake River Valley. The feeder is down by 1/2 now but activity has noticeably decreased. Also, by noon, the only hummingbirds coming in were Black-chinned and then, only juveniles. In fact, today I believe the only adult hummer I saw was one female Black-chinned. No adult males of any species & all others were juveniles. Some in molt & were difficult to ID.
The other interesting note, is the birds are ravenous. In fact, as evening approaches, I have seen some feeding behaviors I haven’t witnessed all season. I may need to back off, a bit, my war on White Bryone (a miserable, introduced vine growth that can literally cloak an entire tree). White Bryone does get a white flower that produces a fruit poisonous to humans, but I watched Black-chinned Hummingbirds sipping nectar from its abundant flowers. Also, I watched a Black-chinned flying from leaf to leaf at the top of a cottonwood, gleaning insects from the leaf surfaces.
All in all, it’s been an interesting day of hummingbird activity. I do think area fires have made for some concentrated effect into river bottoms, esp at my location, and that fall hummer migration is definitely on. No doubt, there was a flush of Rufous early this AM, with a smattering of Calliope thrown in. And, have the adults already gone? Like many shorebirds, do the juveniles inherit a genetic “map” of migration & do so on their own? And, where are the Broad-taileds? These are the questions that, for me, make birding fascinating.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot