Worth the drive!

Last night, Dwayne Martin gave me a heads up about a probable adult male Allen's Hummingbird that was coming to a feeder just outside the office of Riverbend Park, in Catawba County, NC. From Cullowhee, this is slightly over a two hour drive, but I didn't hesitate! Allen's Hummingbird would be a life bird for me and if accepted by the NCBRC would constitute only a second NC record. It is widely known that the separation of female and immature Selasphorus  hummingbirds in the field is next to impossible, but most birders wouldn't think twice about the identification of an adult male. However, a word of caution- male Rufous Humingbirds in particular can be quite variable in their plumage, and have been known to show extensive green on it's mantle, which is perhaps the most obvious and well-known field mark for differentiating between Rufous and Allen's in the field. Thus, it is hard, if not impossible, to obtain a foolproof identification of a green-backed Selasphorus in the field. The extensive green on the back of the bird in question as well as the appearance of a slightly smaller size made Dwayne suspicious yesterday, and after researching the issue farther, taking a few photos, and contacting Bob Sargeant (one of the leading hummingbird experts in the country), became as certain as he could of the ID of Allen's without having the bird in hand. Now, Dwayne is one of only three people in NC licensed to band hummingbirds, and like the others, bands mainly hummingbirds of winter occurence in NC. So, it went without question that this little guy was going to recieve some jewelry around it's leg. I was privileged to be one of the few people that Dwayne privately tipped off about the bird last night, so made a plan to meet him at 7 this morning to band and photograph it.

Dwayne, along with Lori Owenby, Monroe Pannell, Dave Harden, and several other Hickory-area birders were gathered in the park office upon my arrival. The bird was quick to show, and at 7:37 decided to fly into the cage trap! When banding hummingbirds, the most common approach to trapping them involves placing the feeder into a wire cage trap with 3 doors- a small one on opposite sides, and a large door in the front of the trap. While standing a safe distance away to be sure not to scare the bird, the door is help open by a long string held on the other end by the trapper. When the bird flies into the trap to access the feeder (placed in there earlier), the trapper releases the string and as a result the large, front door shuts- trapping the bird in the cage. The bander then accesses the bird by sticking their arm through one of the small, side doors, and after cornering the bird, is able to safely remove it from the cage and take it for banding and processing.

Dwayne's measurements, mainly of wing and tail length, confirmed that this bird was clearly an Allen's. Curved culmen, extensive rufous rump, very extensive green on the back, and the ovate overall shape of the green back all helped to confirm the ID of Allen's Hummingbird. About 5 minutes after releasing the bird, it was back at the feeder and feeding regularly, just like nothing had ever happened! It was interesting to note that the hummingbird was just small enough that it wasn't able to perch on the established feeder perch and still reach the feeding hole. Instead, it had to precariously perch on the side of the actual feeder itself! A Rufous is large enough that this wouldn't be a problem.

I then set up near the feeder with me camera for about 45 minutes, hoping to either get a shot of the bird either perched or on the feeder. It would be a good complement to the in-hand photos I got earlier. The bird was skittish at first, and abandoned his first quest to the feeder because of my (and my camera+tripod) presence. Shortly thereafter however, it returned to feed for about 20 seconds, allowing a few decent shots. I decided to switch positions so that I could get a better angle on the bird. About 10 minutes later, he returned, allowing some nice shots.

A great bird, and a great time seeing some old friends and acquaintances! A day (or part of a day, technically) well spent.