Today at 5 pm I walked to Robert E. Lee Park (Lake Roland) in an attempt to
re-locate the hummer from yesterday. I didn't think much of my chances.
Two young birders, Derek Hudgins and Olivia Babb, had read my post and were
also trying for the bird. Between 5:15 and 5:45 we saw a few Ruby-throated
hummers, 2-3 Redstarts, and a Blue-headed Vireo. Then I found a larger
hummer among the weeds of the stump dump (looking down this time) and told
Derek and Olivia that they should have a look. It was considerably larger
than a Ruby-throated and matched yesterday's bird, except that with the
different view I saw two new things: 1. The head and nape looked iridescent
green (looking down on the bird in sunlight made the difference); 2. the
breast and belly now looked dull white, maybe even a bit brownish, rather
than gleaming white. We all saw the bird reasonably well, then it
disappeared for about 15 min. Then, magnificently, it reappeared and
perched on a bare tree branch. Now we got really good looks-we could even
see the white marking behind the eye. Derek was able to take pretty good
pictures with his smartphone, and he has promised to post them to mdbirding.
Huge thanks to Phil Davis who stayed up late yesterday to research
hummingbirds based on my description (yesterday's post plus a few additional
comments). Phil's best guess. female Magnificent Hummingbird!
Uncanny moment: I spotted the bird today at 5:45, exactly the same time as
yesterday.
Peter Lev
Baltimore
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