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More Green Violet-ear Information



Hey Carolina Birders,

Just a bit more on a Green Violet-ear that might be of interest to some..
An adult Green Violet-ear spent the majority of the summer in the mountains
of West Virginia this year.  The bird appeared at a feeder in mid-June and
remained there for fifty-five days before leaving on August 10.  As I
understand was the case with the NC hummer, this bird too ended up in a
private community.  (Maybe that's the key!)  Knowing that the neighborhood
would be inundated with birders, the homeowners chose to allow viewing of
the bird on specific days during certain hours and news of the rarity was to
spread only by word-of-mouth.  They did not want the sighting to appear on
any of the local lists fearing that neighbors in this secluded area wouldn't
appreciate the traffic that this bird would no doubt cause.

Knowing that I was in WV at the time, a fellow birder mentioned the hummer
to me and I was fortunately able to view it in early July.  I was amazed at
the size of this bird compared to the other four species of hummingbirds
that I've been able to see here in our state.  I can tell you that the home
where the bird was being seen was at an elevation of somewhere just less
than 3100'.  Although "private community" may bring to mind images of very
large homes and manicured lawns, this area wasn't anything like that.  The
homes were quite nice, but they pretty much blended into the surrounding
woodlands.  In many cases, the "yards" were left natural.  I'd estimate
there was a minimum of a thousand acres of property within the development
with perhaps only thirty to forty homes.  The area was primarily mixed
hardwoods with a fairly open understory.  Although there was a tiny creek or
two seen rolling down the hillsides in the development, they appeared to be
temporary features that had been caused by recent rains in the area.  The
only real water sources that I could find were a couple of small ponds
perhaps a mile or so away.  The mountain upon which these homes were located
was extremely steep although the area immediately around the home where this
bird was staying was relatively level.  The homeowner was, in fact, a master
gardener.  As such, she maintained a variety of flowering plants with
emphasis on those that "her" hummers would enjoy.  I didn't see the huge
numbers of hummers at the feeders that some avid enthusiasts get, but eight
to ten Ruby-throateds could generally been seen at a given time visiting
various flowers as well as the four feeders that I could see.

When the bird first arrived, the Ruby-throateds would scatter whenever this
huge hummer would show up to feed.  It didn't even have to chase the others
away.  They just left.  However, the homeowner said they gradually adjusted
to the presence of this unusual interloper and eventually "played fairly
well together".

Banders attempted to catch this bird shortly after its arrival but were
unsuccessful.  Knowing that the homeowner had become extremely attached to
this "little" wonder that she affectionately dubbed "Panama Green", I spoke
with her this morning and mentioned the NC bird.  She was very interested in
seeing any photos that may be available of this particular bird.  I directed
her to those shots on the CBC website and she was very grateful to those
that had been able to photograph this latest bird.  Although I'm sure we'll
never know for certain, I know this homeowner would like to think there is a
possibility this could be the same bird that she hosted and that it is doing
well and heading back to join friends and family.

Good (Humming) Birding!
Ritch Lilly
Myrtle Beach (Horry County), SC
scbeachbums@hotmail.com