ML125349071

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

***Very Rare. First county record and only the 7th record for Maryland. Posted on Facebook the evening before by homeowner Jennifer, and photos were tentatively IDed as a Calliope. I contacted Jennifer privately and she was generous enough to open her house to me this morning to try and see the bird. Upon arrival, Dan Haas had already been there and confirmed that it was indeed a Calliope, the last regularly occurring ABA hummingbird for me. He and Jennifer had already spoken about allowing birders to visit, and worked out a plan as to the details (below). Fortunately, the hummingbird was very cooperative, both perching on a branch in the tree that hangs over the deck, as well as on the electrical cable for the holiday lights strung up next to the feeder. The bird was very loud, and we often heard it before seeing it. It was also very aggressive towards the Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the yard, much to our amusement. The hummingbird was quite small, with limited rufous on the undersides and not continuing obviously onto the tail (as one would expect in a Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird). The bill was short, and the wingtips did not extend beyond the tail - clinching the ID. In photos, one can see that the bird also had a small white notch that goes over the base of the bill, another key ID factor for Calliope. The bird was banded later today by Bruce Peterjohn, chief of the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory and confirmed to be a healthy first winter male Calliope Hummingbird. The bird even made it into the local newspaper: https://www.capitalgazette.com/multimedia/photos/cgnews-calliope-hummingbird-makes-first-recorded-anne-arundel-county-appearance-20181114-photogallery.html?. If interested in viewing this individual, the rules are as follows: Visiting hours are 9-4. Parking is not a big issue, but this is a residential neighborhood. Be courteous. The address is 977 Dogwood Tree in Cape St. Claire (right outside Annapolis). Once at the house, walk to the left of the house and enter the back yard via the gate on the side yard/through the carport. Stay on the cement pad. If needed, pull the red chairs onto cement. The left side of street parking in front of the houses to the left and right of homeowner's is ok. Just don't block driveways. And NO PARKING DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET (at 976). Thanks to Jennifer for allowing us all to view this wonderful rarity!

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF300mm f/4L IS USM

ISO

800

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

4200 pixels x 2797 pixels

Original file size

1.37 MB