ML503427451

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Female; though Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have a tendency to linger in SE Virginia most years until the first true cold snap, this is probably best left as a slash entry since vagrant/reverse migrant Black-chinned Hummingbirds can show up in the East this time of year and the views/photographs aren't going to solidify this one. In September or even October I'd probably log it as RTHU without hesitation, but by mid-November the percentages of that approach being 'correct' probably are not as firm. No tail pumping noticed, which behaviorally would help lean towards RTHU, but physically speaking, the bird was in flight the entire time, so I never was able to see the shape of the outer primaries (slender on RTHU, more clubbed on BCHU) and unless I had the two species side by side I doubt I'd be able to gauge the bill length accurately enough to separate them. No vocalizations heard. The bird seemed interested in the sparse Honeysuckle flowers at the northwest edge of the Septic ("Sparrow") Field, then presumably the same individual was observed an hour or so later zooming through the thicket at the base of the Raptor Trail (see later checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122359631).

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

6240 pixels x 3857 pixels

Original file size

3.92 MB