November 18 - Calliope Hummingbird in N.J.

After a very long day yesterday I received a call from Rob about a Calliope Hummingbird being seen at a home in nearby Denville, NJ. Earlier this year we had tried for this extremely rare East Coast vagrant without success, this time we would not be foiled !

Rob got there at first light and saw the bird a few minutes before 7 am. I arrived about 20 minutes later and was able to see my second life-bird of the weekend.
credit:Stephen Bahir


The bird was quite cooperative and fed frequently. It was remarkable for me to see a hummingbird while snow was falling, but I presume that this montane-breeding species has seen many a snow squall previously.

credit: Jim Gilbert