First photos of the Calliopes.
- alex 12-05-2001 3:08 pm [add a comment]

• Here's a bigger, better picture. They also added some improved images to the above link.
  
  
  - alex 12-07-2001 1:03 am [add a comment]

The Times tackles the hummers (and ever more, better pictures).
- alex 12-18-2001 2:57 pm [add a comment]

Well, the Calliopes appear to be gone, died or departed, we know not which.
From the Bird Mail:

SUBJECT: Bon Voyage, NYC Calliopes? Received from: David Burg
David Burg President, WildMetro/Wild Apple burgfam@mindspring.com
1. The Last Days of the Calliopes
The two immature calliope hummingbirds that were enjoyed by so many have not been reported visiting Ft. Tryon park in Manhattan since Thursday, December 27. There was a report of a brief appearance by the bird(s) on the 28th, but I do not know the source of that report, nor whether the observers were reliable. Tom Burke, compiler of the NYC area rare bird alert, reports the 26th and 27th as the last days of observation. The absence of the birds from the heather garden coincided with the onset of colder weather and the frost blasting of the flowers where the birds were most often observed feeding. Some of the flower heads were cut down by the gardeners on the 26th, but I do not think they were any longer of use to the birds. The flowers had been visibly deteriorating for about a week before then. During the time that the flowers were fading the behavior of the calliopes also changed. Until mid December both birds were often seen simultaneously. They had frequent interactions, generally consisting of chasing and other aggressive behaviors. At least one of the birds was often seen flying in a "U" shaped pattern, similar to that used during the breeding season to attract a female and/or defend a territory against other males. I am only certain that I saw the "south" bird perform this display flight. I would be interested in knowing whether the "north" bird exhibited similar behavior. It was noted by many that the "south" bird appeared more aggressive, more dominant, and defended the larger patch of flowers. "South" also had more of a developed iridescent magenta throat gorget, displaying more adult plumage than the other bird. Several observers claimed there was increased growth of these feathers during the weeks that the birds were present in the gardens. As December progressed, the birds' aggressive behaviors diminished greatly. The less dominant bird was seen much less frequently. After one cold night it was not seen at all the next day, though two birds were seen at the same time on subsequent days. When the two birds were present, there was still chasing behavior, but I did not see any display flights for at least a week before the 27th. With the dying of the blossoms the dominant bird was also seen less often. Visits to the virtually dead blossoms on the 26th and 27th were very brief. It is not known where else the birds were spending time and what other food resources, if any, they were exploiting. Sargent feels that wintering hummingbirds in the east are mostly dependent on insects, and only take advantage of feeders because they are an easy source of food. I know of only one observer of the Manhattan birds who reported a calliope feeding on an insect, one bird on one date, December 7. There were many days when insects were active in the garden but I never saw the birds exhibit any "flycatching" or "insect gleaning" behavior. Before their last week they were in the garden almost all daylight hours, and the only behaviors I observed in addition to those noted above were probing blossoms and perching. It is perhaps important to note that the birds were in apparent good health up to the time they disappeared. Whether apparent good health meant they really were in good health is impossible to say. It would have been interesting to have been able to follow their changes in weight and other parameters of their physiologic condition. After the birds were no longer seen, I learned that some researchers have placed scales at favored perches to weigh wild hummingbirds. Too late for these guys. Did the decreased amount of time that the hummingbirds spent in the heather garden mean they were spending more time at another food source, perhaps eating insects? At this time, I have no idea. It should be noted that on the Humnet list serve there is currently a debate among Bob Sargent and other experts regarding whether gardens and feeders are a necessity for eastern winter hummingbirds. This discussion can be followed by visiting humnet via the "specialty" category of the birdingonthe.net web site. The "south" bird was observed several times at the end of visits to the flowers flying purposefully to the east. It was observed several times perching on and apparently feeding at blossoms of flowering horticultural (Japanese?) cherry trees that grow to the east of the heather garden. That cherry trees were blossoming on Christmas in Manhattan says a lot about the climate conditions this fall. It was beautiful, but maybe a little scary. 2. Our (useless) efforts to help the birds Marcia Fowle, president of New York City Audubon Society sparked my efforts to do something about the birds. Marcia, in turn was responding to the concern of NYCAS member Ann Lazarus. As many of you know, my opinions regarding what to do about the birds changed during the time that they visited. At first, I and others thought the birds should be captured to prevent their freezing. Chris Sheppard, bird curator at the Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo) gladly and generously offered to shelter the birds over winter or permanently. The birds first needed to be acclimated to feeders for most trapping protocols. One feeder was purchased at discount from the NY Botanical Garden gift shop, four others were lent by the zoo, one was put up anonymously. Allison Sloan helped set up and refill the feeders. After all the feeders were stolen, a commercial feeder was purchased from the National Audubon Society sanctuary in Greenwich Ct. That feeder was only up when there were volunteers to guard it. In addition to myself, key volunteers were Sharon Kass and Amala Lane. Others were willing to help, but we gave up our efforts before they could do so. The hummingbirds were never observed using any of the feeders. Trapping the birds would have required city, state, and federal permits. The city parks department at first objected to any efforts to assist or capture the birds, but in his last call-in radio show on the local public station, outgoing Commissioner Henry Stern declared that he was "a man for all species" and was in favor of the birds being helped by the zoo. This statement was in response to a question by volunteer Amala Lane. NY State DEC was willing to consider issuing permits if an expert trapper was found. It was not easy lining up an expert trapper who had the time and interest to devote to the Manhattan birds. Through contacts in Arizona I located Sara Hiebert, a hummingbird expert on the faculty of Swarthmore College. Sara was prepared to net the birds, but by that time we were receiving new information from Bob Sargent. Bob was contacted by ebird moderator Ben Cacace because Bob is one of the national experts on wild hummingbirds. He strongly felt that the birds were more cold hardy than we thought, that they could move on if things got too bad, and the best thing was to leave them alone. After talking to him by phone Sara Hiebert was not willing to trap the birds, a decision I agree with. Given the evidence that many western hummingbirds have successfully survived winter conditions in the east without human help, it was decided to let the birds try to fend for themselves. Since the birds were not visiting our feeders, as far as I know there was no human action taken that greatly influenced the birds at all, except for planting the garden in the first place. 3. Questions, questions Have the birds survived? We have no idea. A lot of excellent photos were taken, and the differences in extent of adult plumage meant that the two individuals were clearly identifiable. It would be interesting to compare photos of the Manhattan calliopes with photos of calliopes that show up elsewhere in the east after the last observed date of the NYC birds. If photo id works for whales and tigers, could it work for hummers? If they have survived, where have they gone? No idea. If they survive, will they be back next fall? Other calliopes wintering as far north and east as Tennessee have returned three years in a row. Our birds benefited from an exceptionally mild fall, I would not count on another right away, but who knows? Even if a calliope returns, I do not think we will be able to say it is the same bird, as ours would be in adult plumage. The NYC birds were not banded or marked. Could the birds have survived and stayed around if we fed them? They would have had to have learned to use feeders. We would have had to have had a way to heat the feeders. Even then the jury is out about helping wintering hummingbirds in cold climates. Another western wanderer, an anna's hummingbird at a heated feeder in Minnesota was found dead this week. The bird died overnight during a spell of cold weather despite evidently having food and a heat lamp available. The body of that bird has been collected and it is being saved for research. More questions: was a bird like that already defective or sick, and that was why it strayed and stayed too far north? Did the presence of a feeder "lure" the bird into lingering so long that it was killed by the cold? Lots of opinions about this, few documented facts. 4.The Future These rare birds caught the nature loving community unprepared and without any meaningful response. At the least, more rigorous observations of the birds would have added to scientific knowledge. At best, more might have been done to understand if and how they could (and if they should) have been helped. The morality of intervening in nature is a difficult subject, but as so often is the case, there was not adequate information to clarify the moral choices. Would the individual birds and the species be helped or harmed by trapping or feeders? Wild Metro/Wild Apple and other institutions and organizations must develop greater wisdom concerning when and how to help nature and wildlife survive in densely populated areas. Long neglected in favor of wilderness and rain forests, urban nature is just beginning to get the recognition and attention it deserves. In addition to being important for their own sake, urban sanctuaries teach people to love nature. Unless urbanizing humanity learns to care for nature close at hand, it will be politically impossible to save more distant, wilder places. These hummingbirds were great ambassadors from the natural world, but not enough was made of this opportunity for education. Many schools are located nearby, but not a single class field trip was made to the birds. We should be better prepared for such unusual opportunities in the future. Observers, please note: I have been contacted by a researcher from the University of Wyoming who is interested in studying the NYC visit of the calliopes as part of a study of winter hummingbirds in northern areas. He is hoping to gather data that could inform future management decisions. If you have information that you feel would be useful to this study, or if you are willing to compile and record the information gleaned from the many observers, please email me. 5.Some Concluding Thoughts These birds did accomplish a lot. The creators of the city park system probably did not envision visits from rare hummingbirds, but they set aside places where magical wild things could persist in metropolis. These birds taught a lot of people the surprising lesson that given the right conditions even rare forms of nature can exist in this most urbanized of urbs. Media publicity spread this message around the world. They were a reminder that green places in the city are a necessity, not a luxury. We must renew our efforts to protect and expand these precious urban sanctuaries, both for wildlife and for humans. The calliopes brought a lot of people together to marvel at their very existence. I have a list of over a hundred people who want to be contacted about the fate of the hummingbirds, and hundreds of others visited them. Birders came from as far as Cairo, Egypt. Yes, most of the long distance visitors were in town for the holidays anyway, but they took time from busy schedules to come see the birds. The fellowship of neighborhood residents of varied backgrounds was one of the greatest pleasures I received from my work to protect the hummingbirds. We know the city is diverse, but this neighborhood hosts aging refugees from Hitler's Germany, urban professionals, young and middle aged folks born in the Dominican Republic, dignified strollers of Irish descent, and three generations of recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. It is a neighborhood where parents and grandparents, not nannies, push the baby carriages. And everyone shared an excitement about the hummingbirds. The calliopes sparked an ongoing debate about how and whether we can help nature coexist in cities. I have received emails from experts and amateurs from all over the continent. The birds brought forth a compassionate desire to help. We all know that most humans share this instinct, but it was good to be reminded yet again that New Yorkers care about even the least of living beings. And calliopes are the smallest bird in North America. Weighing no more than a pair of dimes, these mites proved that good things can come in very small packages. They brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. I saw a sense of wonder kindled in every child and adult that witnessed these hummingbirds. I saw grown men jump up and down, babies smile, old women laugh. And this fall New York City needed all the joy we could find.
- alex 1-07-2002 9:41 pm [add a comment]