![]() http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2180963.jpg> Wildlife Rehabilitation Center |
A male Rufous hummingbird has become the darling of blogs and TV newscasts in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area after it was "rescued" by some well-intentioned bird lovers and taken to a wildlife rescue/rehab center.
Jim Williams, who writes the "Wing Nut" birding column for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported the solitary Rufous was spotted Nov. 8 by Terri Walls, who kept a nectar feeder in her front yard. She subsequently wrote a post on a birding website that was read by a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, who transported a cage trap to Walls' residence in St. Paul and successfully captured the wayward hummer Nov. 11.
At last report, the bird was being kept at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville. Phil Jenni, executive director of the center, said plans were being made to fly it to Arizona, where it would be released. Before the bird can travel, a licensed rehabber must be found who will go to the destination airport and receive the bird, he said It also requires permission from the state of Arizona.
"The bird seems in good condition," he said, "but it was stressed by the number of photographers" who came to the Walls' yard to take pictures of it in the three day prior to its trapping. Walls estimated about 100 birders, most with cameras, came to view the hummingbird.
If the little hummer thought his experience with dozens of crazed Minnesota birders was stressful, just wait until he gets off the plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in late November or early December and discovers he's about two months late for the migration there. That's because most Rufous pass through the southwestern U.S. states in late summer and early fall.
There are few people on the planet who know more about hummingbirds in Arizona (and everywhere else) than Sheri Williamson, Director of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, who has captured and banded thousands. Beyond that, Sheri wrote the book on hummingbirds - and by THE BOOK I mean A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North American in the Peterson Field Guide Series.
When I contacted her this Sunday, she said she was aware of the vagrant Minnesota Rufous and wondered why the rehabbers chose Arizona for his release.
"I've been working on this from various angles since I read that the rehab center was planning to send the bird to Arizona (where wintering Rufous are almost as rare as hummingbirds' teeth!)," Williamson wrote.
But the Arizona hummer expert said she was more concerned about a press release issued by the Midwest office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department, which offered some accurate advice, along with a not-so-accurate recommendation.
"While the individual who captured this bird was likely acting with the best of intentions, in these situations, the best thing to do is to leave the bird alone," the FWS release read. "Although rare, birds can stray from their normal migration pathways, which would explain the presence of this bird in Minnesota, but they usually find their way back to their breeding or wintering grounds."
No problem with that advice. But the government agency press release continued:
"For individuals feeding hummingbirds in Minnesota, it is best to stop feeding them in September when the weather begins to get cold, which will encourage these birds to continue their migration south."
And that comment likely raised the eyebrows of many bird experts, including Sheri Williamson.
"The FWS statement unfortunately repeats the myth that feeders stop hummingbirds from migrating," Williamson wrote. She said she hopes to take the Minnesota Rufous incident and use it to help educate birding enthusiasts, wildlife rehabilitators (and perhaps some FWS press release writers) about the proper way to deal with off-track hummers.
"I'm hopeful that this will be the foundation of a nationwide policy to guide rehabbers on whether, when, and how to intervene in the lives of vagrant birds," she said.
We'll keep you posted.
- J.R. Absher