Ontbirds subscribers, As of 4:00 p.m. today public access to see the Calliope Hummingbird in Goderich has now closed. Congratulations to Linda Johnston and her amazing support team of Deborah Johnston, David Lavigne and Liz Black-Petrie on hosting one of the most universally positive birding events in Ontario history. You can rest assured that you have earned the profound thanks and respect of the Ontario birding community for the many hours invested on their behalf. Linda has lived up to every promise made to the Ontario birding community and now the onus is on us to repay her in kind by letting her revert back into her normal life. Please note that no further visitation will be possible, and no winter listers will be permitted access. Please do not even bother Linda with such requests. With the cessation of visitors, things also can only improve for the Calliope Hummingbird itself, which will now have less pressure on it when coming in to feed and presumably will make great use of a predicted mild period now to really layer on the fat and store lots of protein as muscle mass to enable its successful exodus from Ontario. The 14-day forecast for Goderich is for temperatures with daytime highs ranging from 2C to 7C and nighttime lows of 2C to -2C and there is no large storm predicted in this period. This is the best that could be hoped for and with luck the bird will attain a good condition to make its escape sometime prior to December 8th. Thank you to the more than 700 visitors who came to see this bird and demonstrated for all to see an exemplary level of respect and courtesy, and to the many media outlets interested in a solid demonstration of the economic clout of birders and birding in this province. We will keep you updated on the fate of this little dynamo of a bird. All the best to all of you as the holiday season approaches, Glenn Coady Whitby

Thanks for your hard work at arranging this, Glenn. It illustrates how when it works well, our interest in birds and rarities can be non-confrontational. George On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 6:17 PM Glenn Coady via ONTBIRDS < birdalert@ontbirds.ca> wrote: > Ontbirds subscribers, > > As of 4:00 p.m. today public access to see the Calliope Hummingbird in > Goderich has now closed. Congratulations to Linda Johnston and her amazing > support team of Deborah Johnston, David Lavigne and Liz Black-Petrie on > hosting one of the most universally positive birding events in Ontario > history. You can rest assured that you have earned the profound thanks and > respect of the Ontario birding community for the many hours invested on > their behalf. > > Linda has lived up to every promise made to the Ontario birding community > and now the onus is on us to repay her in kind by letting her revert back > into her normal life. Please note that no further visitation will be > possible, and no winter listers will be permitted access. Please do not > even bother Linda with such requests. > > With the cessation of visitors, things also can only improve for the > Calliope Hummingbird itself, which will now have less pressure on it when > coming in to feed and presumably will make great use of a predicted mild > period now to really layer on the fat and store lots of protein as muscle > mass to enable its successful exodus from Ontario. The 14-day forecast for > Goderich is for temperatures with daytime highs ranging from 2C to 7C and > nighttime lows of 2C to -2C and there is no large storm predicted in this > period. This is the best that could be hoped for and with luck the bird > will attain a good condition to make its escape sometime prior to December > 8th. > > Thank you to the more than 700 visitors who came to see this bird and > demonstrated for all to see an exemplary level of respect and courtesy, and > to the many media outlets interested in a solid demonstration of the > economic clout of birders and birding in this province. > > We will keep you updated on the fate of this little dynamo of a bird. > > All the best to all of you as the holiday season approaches, > > Glenn Coady > Whitby > > > _______________________________________________ > ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the > provincial birding organization. > Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca > For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit > http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup > Posting guidelines can be found at > http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide > Visit the OFO Facebook page > https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists > >