LOGGING DATA
To participate in Operation RubyThroat you will observe hummingbird migration and/or nesting behavior and log the following data on the online forms at the bottom of this page.
MIGRATION DATA (U.S. & Canada)
Enter your field observations in the following tables:
1. Lat/Long of Observation
2. City/County or Parish/State of Observation
3. Date of Observation (year, month, day for each item below)
a. First spring sighting of adult male RTHU (full red throat)
b. First spring sighting of adult female RTHU (white throat)
c. First spring sighting of unknown sex RTHU (use this category ONLY if throat was not clearly seen)
d. First spring/summer sighting of juvenile male RTHU (throat with heavy, dark streaking and/or red spots)
e. Last fall sighting of adult male RTHU (full red throat)
f. Last fall sighting of white-throated RTHU (could be female or juvenile male)
g. Last fall sighting of juvenile male RTHU (throat with heavy, dark streaking and/or red spots)
h. Last fall sighting of unknown age/sex RTHU (use this category ONLY if throat was not clearly seen)
MIGRATION DATA (Mexico & Central America):
Enter your field observations in the following tables:
1. Lat/Long of Observation
2. City/Province or Department/Country of Observation
3. Date of Observation (year, month, day for each item below)
a. First autumn sighting of adult male RTHU (full red throat)
b. First autumn sighting of white-throated hummingbird RTHU (could be female or juvenile male)
c. First autumn sighting of juvenile male RTHU (throat with heavy, dark streaking and/or red spots)
d. Last spring sighting of adult male RTHU (full red throat)
e. Last spring sighting of juvenile male RTHU (throat with heavy, dark streaking and/or red spots)
f. Last spring sighting of white-throated hummingbird RTHU (could be female or juvenile male)
NESTING DATA (U.S. & Canada ONLY):
Enter your field observations in the following tables:
A. Lat/Long at Which Nest Was Found
B. City/County or Parish/State of Observation
C. Date Nest Was Found (year, month, day)
Other fields specific to this protocol:
1. Record DATES (year, month, day) for what you can of the following observations. DO NOT DISTURB THE NEST. (NOTE: It may not be possible for you to determine dates for one or more of the activities below; even so, whatever data you can provide will be useful.)
--Start of nest construction
--End of nest construction
--Laying of first egg
--Laying of second egg
--First sighting of adult female sitting on nest
--Hatching date(s) for egg(s)
--First sighting of young hummingbirds (nestlings) in nest
--Fledging date (when nestlings leave the nest)
--Last sighting of adult female at nest
2. How many eggs hatched? (0, 1, 2, or Unknown)
3. How many nestlings apparently survived? (0, 1, 2, or Unknown)
4. If the nest was destroyed prior to fledging, indicate probable cause. (Natural Predator, Feral Cat, Weather, Human Interference, or Unknown). Add anecdotal info if desired.
5. Record dates and anecdotal observations of ANY adult male behavior at the nest. Be careful to report only what you actually see, rather than an interpretation of what you see.
Examples:
2 Jul 2009-Male perched on nest for 30 seconds (NOT "male incubated eggs")
9 Jul 2009-Male flew over nest (NOT "male defended nest area")
6. If the female rebuilds the nest or reuses the nest for a new set of eggs, fill out a second (or third) data report and record the new observations as listed above. Indicate "second record" or "third record" for the year.
7. Anecdotal info (Include type of vegetation in which nest was found, with common and scientific names of tree, vine, or shrub, if known; height of nest from ground; whether nest site was used in a preceding year; other interesting observations; etc.)
8. Send via e-mail up to three sharp JPEG photos of your RTHU nest to RESEARCH. Please compress each photo to less than 1MB in size. Put “EarthTrek Nest Photos” as the subject line and be sure to include in the body of your e-mail your name, city/state, and date(s) photos were taken. (Especially needed: one close-up photo and one showing nest in its habitat). Please inquire in advance before submitting nest videos. You retain the copyright on all images, but submission of photos indicates you are willing to allow EarthTrek/Operation RubyThroat to use them for non-commercial purposes. Please do not watermark your photos.