THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190307
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
If ever a stray hummingbird, far from the sweet nectar in its favorite blooms, had a chance to make it through a cold winter, it might just be the little rufous hummingbird in Laquita and Robert Dunn's Alanton yard.
The Dunns first noticed the bird Dec. 12. ``Prior to the cold snap, my roses were budding,'' Laquita Dunn said, ``and that may have been what attracted him.''
But when they saw the bird, it was flying hungrily around a feeder the couple had hung over the patio door. The Dunns had neglected to take down the feeder in the fall when our common ruby-throated hummingbirds leave to migrate to Central America for the winter.
``He flew around it but wouldn't attempt to eat,'' Laquita Dunn said.
She quickly washed the feeder and filled it with sugar water. The little bird went right to it and the nectar has been its mainstay ever since.
The Dunns watch the hummingbird from their dining room, where they sit at the table every day and monitor its activity. It feeds regularly in the mornings and afternoons.
Between sips of nectar, the hummingbird flies to a nearby pear tree where its miniature form can be seen perched on a bare branch silhouetted against the light.
Laquita Dunn knew she had a different hummingbird from the start. She recalls that our ruby-throated hummingbirds, the only hummers that breed east of the Mississippi, look grayish or greenish, depending on the sex.
``And this one didn't look like either,'' she said. ``This one was dull brownish with a white ring partially around its neck.''
A visit from Virginia Beach Audubon Society member Betsy Nugent confirmed that the hummer was a rufous hummingbird. This western species summers from Alaska to California and winters in Mexico.
Either young without its full-colored plumage or a female with dull plumage, the Dunns' bird has a brownish look but not the bright rufous coloring of an adult male hummingbird. Adult males also have bright orange-red throats similar to the brilliant ruby-red throat of the male ruby-throated hummingbird.
Young birds of all species tend to be the ones that wander off course while migrating. The lucky ones end up in places like the Dunns' back yard where they can survive despite the lack of food.
Another rufous hummingbird, probably young also, was not as lucky. It was seen at the Oceanfront this month where it was feeding on Russian olive bushes, still in bloom at the end of 83rd Street.
The Alanton bird didn't have to rely on flowers staying in bloom through the snow, thanks to the Dunns. ``He would even come in to feed during the snow,'' Laquita Dunn said.
``I feel like he will be fine since he's made it through the snow and bitter cold,'' she added.
Of all hummingbirds in North America, the rufous is the one most apt to be adapted to cold because it summers farther north than any other hummingbird species, ranging up into Alaska by mid-April. Up north, it builds nests on fir tree branches that grow close to the ground as protection from wind and cold.
``At first, we were really upset when the weather got really cold,'' Laquita Dunn said. ``We were afraid it would seal his doom.''
Not so. Every morning like clockwork around 10 a.m., the hummingbird is at the feeder. Still the Dunns leave nothing to chance.
``I get up every morning at 6 o'clock before it gets light and check the feeder to see if it is frozen,'' Robert Dunn said.
The couple even purchased a second feeder as a back-up if the old one froze. They were afraid it would be harmful to the little hummingbird if it had to wait for the feeder to defrost before it could feed on these cold mornings.
The next challenge is: Can the Dunns show him the way to go home come spring?
P.S. You can prepare for the arrival of hummingbirds in early April by visiting Wild Birds Unlimited from noon to 5 p.m. today during the store's third birthday celebration. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos by Mary Reid Barrow
A rufous hummingbird has stuck around for the winter at the Alanton
home of Laquita and Robert Dunn, feeding on sugar water in a feeder
the couple hung over their patio door. The Dunns watch the
hummingbird from their dining room, where they sit at the table
every day and monitor its activity. This western species usually
summers from Alaska to California and winters in Mexico.
by CNB