This juvenile female Broad-billed Hummingbird continued to appear in several Aldea yards in early December 2016. It was way out of its range to begin with and also very late in migrating south to Mexico proper. As noted in an earlier blog post Broad-billed Hummingbirds’ range places them only in the extreme southeastern parts of New Mexico.
These photos were taken the first week of December 2016. After December 2 this wayward bird was no longer seen. Hopefully it finally headed south.
An expert on Hummingbird behavior, Sheri Williamson from the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, says “the good news is that hummingbirds are much tougher and more adaptable than most people realize. Rufous Hummingbirds have survived nights down to -5 degrees F. in the Northeast, and overwintering Broad-billeds in our neighborhood (5000’, USDA Zone 8b) have survived overnight lows of 11, 9, and 0 degrees during brutal cold snaps in 2011 and 2013. Broad-billeds don’t have a very strong migration instinct to begin with, and they are expanding their year-round range northward. This comes with significant risks, especially as climate change makes weather more erratic, and some of the “pioneers” simply aren’t destined to survive.”
The photos below are included in this blog post for the record.
Click on photos to enlarge. Photos taken December 2016 in Aldea de Santa Fe yard. Used with permission and copyright © 2016 Mouser Williams.
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