Ruby-throated hummingbird(Archilochus colubris) -
local seasonal appearance

Based on 17 observations in Seymour township, Northumberland county, southeast Ontario, 1999-2003.

The low total of sightings for this species, and the nature of the seasonal distribution, are in this case no doubt influenced by the location of the observers. Had a hummingbird feeder been installed each and every year in a prominent place, a great many more sightings could be expected. The sightings are accordingly split between feeder stations (striped column, n=8) and miscellaneous locations (in gardens and in rural settings, shaded column, n=9). The season is short, from 10 May to 09 August, just three months.

This species, the only hummingbird found across southern Ontario on a regular basis, is a common migrant and a breeding summer resident at Presqu'ile provincial park, roughly 40 km to the south, from early May to late September. It is found from 01 May to 26 September, with migration peaks in late May and mid- to late August (LaForest, 1993, p.222). In Peterborough county, to the northwest, the hummingbird is most often seen from 01 May to 01 October, and most exceptionally as early as 17 April and as late as 01 November (Sadler, 1983, pp.100).


ruby-throated hummingbird [84 kb]

References

LaFOREST,SM (1993) Birds of Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Friends of Presqu'ile Park / Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 436pp.

SADLER,D (1983) Our Heritage of Birds: Peterborough County in the Kawarthas. Peterborough Field Naturalists / Orchid Press, Peterborough, ON, 192pp.


Graham Wilson, posted 08 May 2004

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