One of my readers of The Wild Life in The Johnson City Press, Irma Stefanini of Gray, wrote last week to say she had left her hummingbird feeder up like I recommended but now one of her hummers just sat over the feeder and drove the other away, and she was afraid it would die for lack of food. I e-mailed her right back and said I wanted to see two winter hummers at the same feeder, but when I called on the way to her house she said only one had been seen all day, and she had put out a second feeder. She takes them in at night to keep them from freezing. It took a good 40 minutes before the first bird showed up and I was sitting in the wrong chair. About 20 minutes later he returned and I got a good look at an immature male Selasphorus spp. hummingbird with a stickpin of his gorget beginning to form. He was mostly green on the back, with the rusty color almost entirely on the flanks. I did not get a glimpse of the tail feathers. Because this one is fairly well along in developing a gorget I am tending towards an Allen's due to the green back. About 15 minutes later an Archilochus spp. bird came to the other feeder. It did not present a front view except when it was on the other side of the feeder, totally hidden from view. The back was solid emerald green, no evidence of tail pumping, bluish wing primaries while seated at the feeder and a faint post-ocular spot. The top of the head was solid green leading me to believe it was a female or immature Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I suggested to Irma that we announce the birds in hopes of bringing a bander, who could confirm identity. She agreed to accept visitors if they would call first and make arrangements. Her number is 423-477-2628. Her home is located at 135 Freehill Extentsion in Gray. From the Gray exit on Interstate 181 go East and then turn right at the light onto Gray Station Road, follow it to the radio towers, turning onto Freehill Road. About a mile past the radio station continue straight at the stop sign onto Freehill Extension. The number is on the mail box, and it is the fourth house on the right. You will be announced by dogs Tinker Bell and Puff barking inside. This is the first time to my knowledge that two winter hummers of different species were coming to the same feeder. At one time Irma said she thought she saw a third bird! James Brooks =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================