[cobirds] Magnificent Hummingbird in Durango

All,

Jane Pederson has had what is most likely a 2nd year male Magnificent Hummingbird sporadically at her house over the past 4 days. Below is her description of the bird. Please contact her at janelcsw@aol.com for permission to view the hummingbird.

Thanks,

Lisa Edwards

Palmer Lake, CO

Begin forwarded message:

From: Janelcsw <janelcsw@aol.com>

Subject: No Mag this morning-but a revision of Mag sighting

Date: June 26, 2015 at 9:08:50 AM MDT

The Mag I observed yesterday morning was a male, not a female. The bird was very dark overall.  Had a bold white post-ocular spot. I observed no color EXCEPT for a brief second, there were just a few feathers that appeared blue or purple, I believe on his head. I still thought female as some females in our study can have some gor feathers with color (BTLH), but the overall dark color of this bird didn't make me think male right away. (my look of the bird probably lasted 5 seconds--and I was in shock! He was about 1 1/2 feet from me on the other side of the shower window, on the feeder). The bird appeared very much like the adult male on Page 97 of Howell, Hummingbirds of North America. And according to the Peterson Hummer guide, it could have been a second spring male. You may be thinking--does she know what a Mag looks like? Well, yes I do--I just returned from 2 weeks in se AZ and have also handled Mags in the past at our hummingbird conservation project in AZ.

There was a Mag at Durango Mt. Resort about 6/7 years ago, AND there was a Mag at the Dunton Guard Station (our other hummer banding station in Colorado) in the next year that stayed about 2 weeks. The researchers were never able to capture the bird to band it, but it was observed extensively.  I believe both these birds were females.

Jane Pedersen

JaneLCSW@aol.com