Rare Calliope

     Late last fall a rare sighting of a Calliope hummingbird showed up in southern Ontario. It was a first in that region of Canada. As a matter of fact it would be extremely rare to see one beyond the sight of the Alberta mountains. What I found extremely exciting about this is that only weeks prior, I had the first and only Calliope ever visit my place. I'm located a few hundred miles East of the Alberta mountains. I immediately started to question whether it was the same bird that left my place weeks before. When that Calliope visited my place, I nearly didn't recognize it. I only noticed it around our place for about 4 hours. It took full advantage of all of our flowers and feeders, and acted as though this garden belonged to him. When he did leave my yard it was pretty obvious he would not return. He headed up into the sky and directly east. Weeks later Ontario was filled with excitement over this rare sighting. I would never question it being the same bird if it weren't for the fact that it was my first Calliope that far east of the mountains and also a first for Ontario. I also never heard of any other Calliope sightings East of the Rocky mountains. The chances to me seem pretty good that was the same bird. Unfortunately, I have no way to confirm it. I did compare my images to he ones posted, and the resemblance is remarkable. So, was it the same bird? I wish I knew for sure. What I do find incredible is the distance that they fly over such a short period of time. This is evident by their migration.
     I know that other birders are much like myself, and when we see a rare bird show up in our garden, it just feeds the addiction for future years.
Calliope Hummingbird. N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. August 2018

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