first, my prompt apologies to those of you who remind me that the 
Susquehanna is indeed in MD and for my overly-parochial view ;)
and thanks for confirming that I really did see Rufus hummers in 
southwestern NM in late July.  Those are life birds for me, as well as the 
pleasure of seeing them. Sonnie

Sonnie and Nick Sussillo
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Les Eastman" <>
To: "Sonnie Sussillo" <>; 
<>
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: Birds in odd places


> Sonnie Sussillo wrote:
>
>> Neither of these sitings were in MD, but seemed interesting and odd to 
>> me; thought I'd mention them just for fun. This weekend, we took the 
>> Amtrak to NYC. Where the train crosses the Susquehanna river, there are 
>> old bridge supports just downriver -- you can look down on the tops, 
>> which support grass and trees but must be way over 50 feet above the 
>> water.  Both going and coming back, I saw black-crowned night herons 
>> perched on the supports (1 bird on the way up, 3 on the way home).  Were
>>  they hunting? Roosting?  Thought it interesting to see them so high 
>> above the water.
>
> Well, this sighting was definitely in Maryland - Havre de Grace to be
> specific. I know we are not in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, but we
> are still in Maryland. :) Also, the old bridge supports are more like 20
> feet above the water. I guess looking down on them makes them look higher.
>
> As for what the herons were doing, they were probably just loafing. I 
> think
> they breed on one of the islands off Havre de Grace. They are sometimes 
> seen at Conowingo, so they do fly up and down the river.
>
>> And, we were in Silver City, NM the last week of July -- Silver City is 
>> in the south-west corner of the state at elevation of 6,000 feet.  There
>> were several hummers buzzing the patio of our friend's home and I swear
>> that 2 of them were rufus hummers; there's nothing else in Sibleys so
>> orange. Yet Sibleys shows them as migrants that summer way up at the
>> Canadian border. They were only there 2 days, then didn't show up again.
>> Early southerly migrants?  Signs that we're due for an early winter?
>> Hmmm.
>
> I don't think the sighting was unusual. I have seen Rufous Hummingbirds at 
> Portal, AZ in early August. Wintering Rufous are already showing up in the 
> gulf states and even North Carolina.
>
> Les
>
> ===========
> Les Eastman
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
> Havre de Grace, MD
>
> The eagle looked down on the river below
> And he wrapped his wings round him and he fell like a stone
> And the big salmon fought but the talons held true
> And he shuddered as the world turned from silver to blue
>                               Steve Earle