hummingbird observed in oz (4 Viewers)

[Jacana]

the time it takes for a plane flight from say Los Angeles to Brisbane is in the region of 14 hours. Hummingbirds by nature need to feed often, the vast majority of birds would be dead by the time the flight was over, supposing one managed to find it's way into a plane of course...

 

[birdboybowley]

Gotta agree with J on the dead hummer scenario with that one

 

[Reuven_M]

i have had to look twice at a hummer. When i saw my first in canada i was supprised by the similarity. At two to three Cm it is more likely to be a Moth. Hummingbirds can't, as said before, cross a large sized water expanse, and as the pacific is the largest, i am 99.99999% sure that one hasn't made it to anywhere outside of the americas naturally. Also the fact that Australia and cuba where connected doesn't mean that they will have evolved in australia too.

I agree crossing the pacific is a bit much, but most ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate over the gulf of mexico, and I don't think a hummingbird in europe is out of the question.

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Hey all, this is my first forum but was so excited that I wasnt alone I had to add my bit! I am a tripper with Wolfgang cause yesterday I was on my balcony with my son and we saw exactly the same thing! We are on the Gold Coast and have a Jasmine out the front. We are used to seeing all kinds of bees, but the last thing we expected was what we actually saw!! It was about 3cm in length, wings going so fast we couldnt see them, and it was going around all my flowers and poking its long nose?beak?tongue? and getting the pollen! I asked my dad what it was and he said its a hummingbird! I was utterly shocked that they say there are none in Aus, cause I would bet my life on it. It definately wasnt a moth, it had no "antanne" or such on its head. It was actually quite pretty! My son says it was more purple than brown (he is 9) I on the other hand would call it a 'muddy brown colour'. I am now going to scope my balcany with a camera as often as possible to try and take a photo!!!

this is what i saw! http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/CAHUBethany02.jpg

That isn't your photograph, though, Wooza, is it? I see that
www.hiltonpond.org
is the website of an organisation in South Carolina, USA. Good luck with your own attempts at photographing the little gem.

Allen

 

[birdboybowley]

I agree crossing the pacific is a bit much, but most ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate over the gulf of mexico, and I don't think a hummingbird in europe is out of the question.

I think it is really...if it wasn't then there'd probably have been one by now. Crossing the Gulf of Mexico is the extreme limit of Ruby-throats endurance and many disappear into it so crossing the much larger Atlantic is a bit much...and then of course they're not gonna find much to eat over here either!

 

[Jacana]

entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.

 

[birdboybowley]

entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.

Indeed - always go with the Razor!

 

[Reuven_M]

1. A hummingbird is unlikely to survive very long at all once it makes landfall.
2. They are not at all easy to see more than a blur buzzing by.
It is very difficult for me to believe that is totally impossible for a hummingbird to ever be blown across the Atlantic, even if only one every 100 years.
Surely many of the vagrant birds in Europe have been more unlikely.
Just looking through the accidentals section of the collin's guide : varied thrush, red-breasted nuthatch, brown thrasher

 

[birdboybowley]

Well it's been more alot than 100yrs since bird records began and there ain't been one yet!

 

[Jacana]

we live in hope

 

[birdboybowley]

That's one hell of a hope Will!!

 

[Jacana]

 

[csanchez7]

Actually, if a hummingbird does show up in the UK, it would not be difficult to locate -- they are very noisy birds that constantly chatter. I locate nearly all of the hummingbirds I see in South Florida by sound first.

They are usually very loyal to a particular area as well (flowering tree, set set of bushes, etc). Definitely one of the easier rarities to chase.

As for one reaching Europe -- it'll have to be quite a tail wind to get that bird over fast enough.

Carlos

 

[LabradorDuck]

Hummingbirds have to feed so often that they must enter a hibernation-like torpor at night so they don't starve. It is very difficult for them to cross any sort of open water, so even if they get blown off course out into the Atlantic they won't survive the trip, unlike the many vagrants that do.

 

[humminbird]

Hummingbirds have to feed so often that they must enter a hibernation-like torpor at night so they don't starve. It is very difficult for them to cross any sort of open water, so even if they get blown off course out into the Atlantic they won't survive the trip, unlike the many vagrants that do.

A very interesting theory Labrador Duck that simply does not hold up. Thousands of hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on their northbound migration every year - a stretch that requires 27 hours of no feeding while in full effort flight.

The jump Newfoundland - Labrador - Greenland - Iceland - Europe would not require that long a flight at any jump.

 

[Jacana]

ahh but there aren't large quantities of nectar bearing flowers on many of those jumps, that would be the killer.

 

[nickderry]

and they would also have to follow that route exactly, what are the chances of them doing that. I think the gulf of mexico is the limit.

 

[Reuven_M]

I agree that it is very unlikely for a hummingbird to cross the Atlantic, but not impossible.

ahh but there aren't large quantities of nectar bearing flowers on many of those jumps, that would be the killer.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive north before the flowers open, feeding on insects and especially sapsucker holes.

Saying that one not being seen yet means one never will be seen is not an argument, do you expect the British List to never grow again?

 

[Jacana]

Ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive north before the flowers open, feeding on insects and especially sapsucker holes.

But Greenland and Iceland have very few trees and no woodpeckers to make sapsucker holes.

I'd love to see a vagrant hummer over here and i'm not saying it's impossible, just that it is so unlikely that it's not realistically worth considering.

 

[humminbird]

ahh but there aren't large quantities of nectar bearing flowers on many of those jumps, that would be the killer.

I agree, highly unlikely, although Ruby-throated arrive in some northern areas with snow still on the ground and Rufous are frequently in Alaska before snow melt (often with 3 feet of snow still on the ground), but the argument was that they can not cross large expanses of open water. This is simply not true.

By the way. The Rufous would be more likely - island hopping from Alaska to Asia then coming across continent. These birds are notorious for migrating "off the traditional route".