To all you hummer watchers, Oct 1 ushers in the unofficial Happy Halloween Hummer Trick or Treat Season. Over the years, in my experience, some lucky people have posted October observations that go something like this. Ruby-throats normally abandon my feeders before now (insert a Sep date, the earlier the better), but I have this lone bird still coming to my feeder now in early/mid-Oct.
That's when the Trick or Treating starts. More times than not, these late-Oct birds are not Ruby-throats, rather vagrant Western hummers, typically Rufouses. They breed in the Pacific North West as far north as SE Alaska within 300 mi of the Arctic Circle. They are quite cold-tolerant. I banded one years ago near Arlington, VT that toughed it out well into Jan in a typical Vermont Winter...now that is tough.
So, carefully check out any late hummers at your feeder...you may be in for a real treat.
Bob Yunick
Master Bander
Schenectady, NY
