Good to hear from you, RL! It doesn’t seem particularly early for Western Sandpipers, to me. Along with Rufous Hummingbirds, shorebird “fall” migration routinely begins before July with southbound Wilson’s Phalaropes arriving around the third week of June, and yellowlegs, solitary sandpipers, and the earliest peeps expected before the end of the month (and volume picking up dramatically in early-mid July). There is little to no gap between the end of northbound songbird migration (lasting well into the first half of June) and southbound migration for the earliest groups like shorebirds and hummers.
Not posted here in many months. Getting back into system to put something out is much harder than it used to be. But here I go. Reading with much interest the last few days about the “appearance” of RUHU’s already heading South. No hummers in my neighborhood (SE Boise), too many squirrels. Sigh! This afternoon got my first “peep” sandpipers on the move (Mtn. Home Res.), been looking the past two weeks. Seems way early, by about two weeks. For those of all y’all who groove on this kind of thing, is there any validity in the timing of this observation? Anyway, picked up six WESA’s and one, “fo sho” (pardon my Southern-ism),SESA. Straight, short tubular bill, good color/patterning. Had another that seemed in between the two species in bill size/shape, body coloration/patterning. Undecided. Am going thru my photos carefully in hope I got one of it. Not a yellow-leg in the bunch, only black-legs. All birds same size, so, no LESA’s, Baird’s or WRSA’s. Sorry. CGB. RL
With Linda’s post…even more to ponder. Our Black-chinneds usually don’t start to disappear until late July. And, will have juvenile BC into Aug, as the female & juvenile Rufous start to arrive. Starting to think, all bets are off this year! Was it the long winter/late spring? Delay in flowering nectar sources? Wildfires in W Canada? Reason nature is so cool, nothing ever “fits” cleanly into a box. Just when one thinks there’s a rhyme & reason, nature throws a curve ball.
I live in the Priest River/Sandpoint area and this is the latest we have had adult male rufous and black-chinned hummingbirds in the 30+ years I have lived here. By now they are normally long gone heading south with only the females and juveniles around.
Very kind, Virginia. Not quite as “crisp” as wanted…they’re fast little buggers, lol! Kept trying to get one head-on with that gorget in full flame-view, but no luck.
Could be, Cliff. Maybe by June, there’s no more “need” for male Rufous Hummingbirds & they hit the road. Once the Rufous nestlings have fledged & flying, then the females are next to leave. Perhaps, taking a bit of a diff’t route. Have been fascinated by the numbers of juveniles which come through, seemingly just groups of juvies. How do they know where to migrate to??? An inherited, genetic “map”? Kind of like, if a BH Cowbird is raised by a Yellow Warbler, how does it know to be a…cowbird??? 🤔 So many questions/so little time. Plus, I get distracted easily, esp with fly-fishing 😁.
Again FWIW, the early arrivals I’m used to seeing in early July
are typically males, with females/juveniles arriving later –
probably in Aug when you see them in Blackfoot. Maybe it’s the
males that tend to stick to the mountains? Interesting to
ponder…
Cliff
On 7/4/23 03:09PM, lcarrigan_55 wrote:
Appreciate all the responses to this thread. You hit the nail
squarely on the head, Carl. By the time Rufous start showing at
our place in Aug, may get one or two adult males. Primarily, it’s
juveniles & females. And, suspect they’ve crossed fairly wide
expanses of sagebrush steppe country, before our place. As last
mountains are the Lost Rivers to the north, before reaching
mountains again, along south edge of Blackfoot. The narrowleaf
cottonwood Snake River Bottoms are probably looking somewhat
inviting by that time.
Reason, this push is so interesting. Today’s group is an entirely
new bunch from those seen this last weekend. An adult female &
at least 2 bright orange/rufous adult males. One of the males on
Sun was a green-backed. But, definitely, more males than we
usually observe.
Appreciate all the responses to this thread. You hit the nail squarely on the head, Carl. By the time Rufous start showing at our place in Aug, may get one or two adult males. Primarily, it’s juveniles & females. And, suspect they’ve crossed fairly wide expanses of sagebrush steppe country, before our place. As last mountains are the Lost Rivers to the north, before reaching mountains again, along south edge of Blackfoot. The narrowleaf cottonwood Snake River Bottoms are probably looking somewhat inviting by that time.
Reason, this push is so interesting. Today’s group is an entirely new bunch from those seen this last weekend. An adult female & at least 2 bright orange/rufous adult males. One of the males on Sun was a green-backed. But, definitely, more males than we usually observe.
So small a world. Yes, Karen, I do mean Lewis Batts. I wrote to him recently to thank him for inspiring me. Unfortunately, he had passed, but his children got my note. Without his love for the birds of NZ (and birds, in general), I’d never have had the years on the Ice nor such an appreciation for birds. So touching that you were in his last class. It was a tough one!
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