SESSION SUMMARIES - Two summaries are displayed on this page. After each monitoring session, the latest summary will be posted here. Look at the dates to determine which of the two is the latest as the position will be either above or below - alternating session by session.

Summary of the THIRD July Monitoring Session (July 26 - 30, 2008)

California Summary: Some locations saw light smoke from the diminishing fires. Many birds trapped had significant molt. A single Allen's Hummingbird was trapped at Indian Peak. The only Rufous Hummingbird was an adult male fly-by bird in Scotts Valley, but he did not stop at the feeders.
Arizona Summary: Except for Sabino Canyon, all sites reported low numbers of birds and few individuals of migrant species. Is migration late this year? Have the breeding adults already moved south? There is much to be learned about hummingbird movement patterns and when these numbes reflect a downward trend.
Colorado Summary: Migrant Calliope and Rufous are captured at both sites with the number of birds lower this year at Mesa Verde than last year. The Magnificent female first banded at Dunton last session is captured again.
British Columbia Summary: The west coast hummingbirds (Vancouver Island except migrants at Franklin) have all departed. Birds in numbers were still moving through Franklin, over Grouse Mountain, Widgeon Marsh east of Vancouver, and the interior of the province. Juveniles were quite abundant from Widgeon Marsh and to tht east, particularly at the two sites at Vernon and further east at Rossland. It was a surprise to see so many adult females at the Franklin site in central Vancouver Island with none at the other island locations. A report from a birder in far southwest Vancouver Island of an influx of Rufous apparently heading across the water to Washington state again confirming Franklin as a major migratory site with birds stopping over to tank up on the way south.
Texas Summary: No report.

New Mexico (Feeder Watch): A new feeder watch site joins the network. It is in southern New Mexico along the Rio Grande River. Black-chinned are the most common bird but there were many visits from Rufous, Calliope, and a few Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. It looks like migration is in full swing in southwestern New Mexico.

This table identifies the number of unique individuals per species captured at each site. Abundance categories include Rare – just observed or less than 3 captured, Uncommon = 3 to 10 captured, Common 11 to 20, and Abundant >20. Sites with no data indicates that they were not sampled this monitoring session - because the birds have already departed the area or the weather or other factor prohibited monitoring.

Summary of the SECOND July Monitoring Sessions (July 12 - 16, 2008)

California Summary: Some locations saw light smoke from the diminishing fires. Many birds trapped had significant molt. A single Allen's Hummingbird was trapped at Indian Peak. The only Rufous Hummingbird was as adult male fly-by in Scotts Valley, but he did not stop at the feeders.
Arizona Summary: Most sites encounter fewer birds this session than last. Although a few northern migrants have been observed, only the northern Arizona site and one site in the Chiricahua Mountains documented these occurrences. Sabino Canyon continues to be the hot spot for juvenile Broad-billed. Could Broad-billeds benefit from a nearby Cooper's Hawk nest as the Black-chinned are in the Chiricahua Mountains? Monitoring on Mt. Lemmon was cancelled due to severe rain storms. There are still breeding females at a few sites and many jjuveniles at most sites. Migration will be starting soon.

Colorado Summary: Low numbers of birds are seen at both sites, perhaps due to the large number of flowers in bloom as suggested by George San Miguel, the natural resources manager at Mesa Verde National Park. The most unexpected event was the capture of a female Magnificent Hummingbird at the Dunton site. Rarities do leave an impression!

British Columbia Summary: Rufous migration on the west side of the province is in its last stage with few to no birds left. The one site with several birds, Franklin, that appears to be a stop-over location, was loaded with adult females as they headed south along the west side of Vancouver Island. In the interior of the province, as usual, Calliope were the most numerous but now the juveniles outnumber the adults that were mainly adult females, with the males having already left.

Texas Summary: The Chamizal National Memorial site continues to have few birds, all Black-chinned and no migrants.

New Mexico (Feeder Watch): Migration is ramping up at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. During the feeder watch associated with this monitoring session, over one-third of the visits were Rufous with Black-chinned and Broad-tailed being the other two species recorded. In the following week, species diversity increaed with the addition of Magnificent and Calliope Hummingbirds. The number of visits counted has more than doubled. It's great seeing migrants moving south!

This table identifies the number of unique individuals per species captured at each site. Abundance categories include Rare – just observed or less than 3 captured, Uncommon = 3 to 10 captured, Common 11 to 20, and Abundant >20. Sites with no data indicates that they were not sampled this monitoring session - because the birds have already departed the area or the weather or other factor prohibited monitoring.