Yes, the Owyhee County eBird filter goes from zero on 29 June to ten on 30 June to accommodate the arrival of southbound migrants, though that transition could probably be pushed a few days earlier.  Rufous aren’t generally known/expected to breed in the Great Basin or in Idaho south of the Snake River Plain, but southbound migrants can be expected throughly the interior west (south to e.g., places like Arizona, New Mexico, and the Big Bend region of Texas) by the end of June.  Why arrival dates are often later at individual sites (Brian and Aidan’s homes, for example) I’m not sure, but the earlier migrants may stick largely to the mountains with others spilling over into the valleys later.  It could also be correlated with age, as those migrating in June are expected to be mostly adult males.  Brian, when yours arrive in force in August, are you still seeing males or mostly females and juveniles?

Interesting how our lives evolve through happen-stance, at times. I ended up in Antarctica because my ornithology professor from Kalamazoo College in 1972 made a movie about the birds of New Zealand. The only way I could afford a trip there was to work in the Antarctic. Then I fell in love with the Ice and got to bird in New Zealand coming and going during the four seasons I worked there. Life is full of odd, yet wonderful twists and turns, no? Thanks for sharing one of yours.

Hello everyone!

Yes, there were quite a few Rufus Hummingbirds at Silver City a couple of days ago. For some reason, only the first checklist I submitted flagged Rufus as rare, but later checklists weren’t flagged. (https://ebird.org/checklist/S143551556) There were several very orange adult males being extremely territorial about their feeders and chasing off any intruders. Twice I even had an immature Rufus fly right in front of me, because the external microphone on my tripod has red accents…. 😀

I’m not sure how the whole Rufus migration works, but I do know there are quite a few of them present from late June through July at Silver City! I think they were the most abundant hummer present a few days ago. 😀

Generally I don’t see Rufus at my house in Caldwell until mid July at the earliest, and usually it is the beginning of August before they start rolling through. I usually only see immature birds at the end of the summer.

Thank you everyone for an interesting discussion! 😀

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Aidan Lorenz
Caldwell

Must have just been a 3-day push of Rufous Hummingbirds. Haven’t seen anymore since Sun evening. Sightings are back to our resident Black-chinneds coming to the feeder, now. And, by their activity, suspect their attention is primarily focused on young in the nest. 

Will be interesting to see if any other Rufous appear at my location before their usual appearance in August. During my Univ TX undergrad days, did 2 summers field work in Big Bend (took position to keep from starving, lol, ended up becoming a life-long fascination with birds) on a study of agave use by migrating & resident hummingbirds. Have a question in for now, long-retired Ornithology prof, but who keeps up with current hummer research, re: any recent studies on Rufous migration. Just for curiosity sake. 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot 

multiple appointments today and LOL we do not have the guts to do that drive tomorrow 🙂

Linda Wentz and I saw the bird this morning on the peninsula that forms the west side of Duck Bay. The bird was feeding in small Douglas-firs near the top of the trees on the water’s edge, Duck Bay side of the peninsula. There is a path leading out to the general area off the Peninsula Trail. Closest parking is the little Duck Bay lot and the Lily Marsh lot. If park at either lot, the trail leading out to the location starts near the south end of the Peninsula Trail. See our eBird list for the location where we saw it. Bird was chipping but fid not hear it sing. —

I don’t hit the Warm River area very often, but there’s a stream I fly-fish in Yellowstone where I can count on seeing Rufous in early July. But, along our area of the Snake, they’re mainly an Aug fall migrant. 

Migration in general, & hummers specifically, has been interesting over the yrs. Again, in 1988, we had mainly Rufous, Broad-tailed & Calliope with a handful of Black-chinneds. So much so, that I kept 3 feeders going from June thru Aug. Filling each daily. At any one time, had 30+ hummers in sight from dawn to dusk. The next yr, essentially…zip. Down to 1 feeder, mainly BT visitors & filling every 3 days. Over the next 10 yrs, BT drastically decreased & BC have since taken over to the point of documenting nesting on place. Typical hummer pattern now, is BC appear early May. Exclusively, BC until early Aug, then Rufous appear. About mid-Aug, only a few anymore, BT appear…like 1 or 2 per fall migration season. Then, late Aug/early Sept the Calliope show. Of all, the Calliope are the most aggressive, lol! 

Gets back to my fascination with local migration patterns. And, how distances of tens of miles & feet of elevation affect bird migration. 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot