Although the heading of this message says, "Rufous", I should probably
have said that we have a Selasphorus hummingbird visiting a feeder in
Lynchburg, VA. The bird was first noticed just before Thanksgiving, and
the home owners (who were leaving town for the holiday weekend)
replenished the feeder. When they arrived home yesterday, the bird was
at the feeder. I went by this morning (December 1) to see the bird. It
appears to be a juvenile Rufous Hummingbird. Incidentally, this is the
16th wintering record of a hummingbird in the Lynchburg area. Since
1995, Lynchburg has been host to 5 Selasphorus sp. (could not get the
birds banded), 8 Rufous, 1 Black-chinned, and 1 Calliope. Two of the
Rufous Hummingbirds returned to the same feeder for two consecutive
winters. We have recorded hummingbirds on our Christmas Bird Count for
four of the past five years. Let's hope this bird stays through December
19 (our Count Day). I've contacted a bander to see if he could travel to
Lynchburg to band the bird.
Thelma Dalmas
Evington
