For a couple of weeks, there has been a mystery bird in Provincetown. This tiny, unidentified visitor is a hummingbird, one of those lost ones that show up here on the Cape in winter for some reason. Those lost hummingbirds almost always turn out to be Rufous Hummingbirds, a species that breeds into southeastern Alaska and winters in Mexico but often veers too far east in fall. But this hummer, according to the grainy photos I saw, was likely not a Rufous – it looked too plain, just green and white like our familiar female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. But Ruby-throats are the least likely winter hummingbird here, believe it or not, so what was it? This is one of those cases where a bird in the hand was going to be worth at least two in the bush. We needed a licensed hummingbird bander to catch and examine it.
Enter Sue Finnegan of Brewster. Sue is the only person in eastern Mass licensed to band hummingbirds, and she has banded and identified many of the lost winter hummers here on the Cape. From photos, my hunch was that this one would turn out to be one of the rarest of the hummingbirds visitors we get, and once Sue got the bird in hand and took some measurements and detailed plumage data, it turned out I was right – this was Cape Cod’s fourth ever Black-chinned Hummingbird. Two of those previous three records, 16 years apart, were in Sue’s own backyard, where she routinely bands hummingbirds. I wonder how many actual records of Black-chinned and other vagrant hummers there would be if we all banded hummingbirds in our backyard?
This species breeds mostly in the southwestern U.S., nesting in deserts and neighborhoods alike, but reaches into southern British Columbia. In winter essentially the entire population squeezes into western Mexico. It occurred to me that P’town is currently hosting at least three premium-level rare birds, the Spotted Towhee, a Western Tanager, and this hummingbird, all birds of the western U.S. that could all be seen in Mexico right now. P'town should look into a bird-themed sister city relationship with some town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, not Puerto Vallarta, something less touristy, like maybe Yelapa.
This Black-chinned Hummer is still present and happily dining at a brand-new heated hummingbird feeder, which is an actual thing you can buy. Remarkably, two Rufous Hummingbirds wintered on one of these heated feeders in Orleans last year. No Black-chinned has been reported past December 14 before, so it has already set the record for the latest in Massachusetts. This special bird will not be taking visitors, unfortunately, due to the difficult viewing circumstances in the neighborhood. I have not seen it either, though it would be a “state bird” for me – one I’ve never seen in Massachusetts. I’ll just continue to stare forlornly at my frozen hummingbird feeder, because I’m too cheap, and not optimistic enough, to spring for one of the heated jobs.
When the subject of these late, lost hummingbirds comes up, or of feeders in general, everyone says the same thing, as if reading from a script – should I take the feeder down to encourage the bird to migrate? The answer is no – the bird already migrated, albeit in the wrong direction, and its window for reaching western Mexico has closed. Removing the food source for a winter hummer will just kill it if it doesn’t have an alternative nectar source. Also, you may notice that your hummingbirds disappear in September while your feeders are still out – strong, ancient urges send them south, and no amount of sugar water will keep them here.
As for the winter ones, as long as they have food, they can survive, and even gain weight here during the winter according to Sue’s banding data. Hummingbirds can go into a torpor to lower their metabolism at night, and can even find small insects to eat all winter – they are way tougher than anyone would imagine. But I’m not – it seems like it’s going to be an old-fashioned cold winter, and I need out of here. Therefore, I bravely volunteer to be the first emissary P’town sends to their new sister city in coastal Mexico. I expect it will take until at least April to fully establish relations.
