type of hummingbird normally found in the Pacific
Northwest and Mexico has been spotted in Ohio.
Several rufous hummingbirds have shown up at feeders
at a northeast Columbus park, and one was trapped
there Friday using a feeder inside a cage.
"Prior to 2002, only 15 had been sighted in
Ohio. In 2003 we had 13," said Peg Hanley of
Metro Parks, which operates 14 parks in central
Normally, ruby-throated hummingbirds are the ones visiting
feeders in Ohio.
Allen Chartier, who holds one of about 60 federal
licenses to catch and band hummingbirds, said
researchers are trying to figure out why the bird
is traveling so far east.
About 10 percent of the birds winter along the
Gulf of Mexico and may be stopping in the
Midwest, attracted by hummingbird feeders, for a couple of months
before moving on.
Researchers still don't know whether the increase
in sightings is because of a change in the birds'
habits or an increased awareness among
"Gradually, a picture has emerged showing
that (rufous hummingbirds) do wander east,"
he said. "They've been observed in almost
every state in the East."
Chartier put a band on the leg of the bird caught
at the park.
"They're 2 millimeters in diameter, about
1.5 millimeters tall -- just tiny little scraps
of aluminum a little thicker than tin foil,"
Chartier said. "Proportionately to the
hummingbird, they're probably about the same as
my wristwatch to me."
Written on the bands are identification marks
that can help track the birds if they are
captured later, he said.
"If you find one that's banded, you can
connect the dots" where it's been, he said.
"But sometimes that answers one question but
raises two more."
A rufous hummingbird sits in
Bruce Simpson's hand Friday in Columbus
before taking flight after being banded
by Allen Chartier, of Detroit, who is one
of 60 people in the country with a
federal license to capture and band
hummingbirds. The rufous humming bird has
been seen around the Blendon Woods Metro
Park in Columbus, far outside natural
range which is the Pacific Northwest.
Allen Chartier sets a trap for a rufous
hummingbird at Blendon Woods Metro Park
in Columbus. The hummingbird, normally
found in the Pacific Northwest and
Mexico, has been spotted in Ohio.
Chartier, who holds one of about 60
federal licenses to catch and band
hummingbirds, said researchers are trying
to figure out why the bird is traveling
so far east.