An Invitation To A Hummingbird Banding

I was still reveling in the excitement of having had the opportunity to photograph a female hummingbird feeding her young (Hummingbird Love On A Ten-Foot Ladder) in early June, when another hummingbird invitation came my way in late July. This time, our friends, Dick and Kathy Ledbetter, asked if we might be interested in taking part in a hummingbird banding. Apparently a couple of individuals certified to band hummingbirds, were in the Oklahoma City area for a joint conference of the American Ornithologist’s Union and the Cooper Ornithological Society. One of them, Dr. Chris Butler, had banded hummingbirds at Dick and Kathy’s home in the past, and had approached Dick about the possibility of doing a little banding while he was in the area as an attendee to the conference. Dick had invited us to observe the banding process a couple of other times, but it had never worked with our schedule. This particular banding, would take place in just a couple of days and I did not have any plans. With my recent experience photographing the hummingbird mother and nestlings still fresh, I was excited about the opportunity to take part in a banding and, of course, said yes!

The banding event was set to take place early on a Saturday morning and, because I am the early bird around here, I was fairly certain I would be attending the banding by myself. It was no problem for me to be up and on the road by 7:00, but FD moved at a more leisurely pace on the weekends, and our great-niece, Haley, had been a near-noon riser since she came to our home in early July. However, when I mentioned the invitation, they both seemed excited about observing a hummingbird banding – even if it meant getting an early start.

FD and I enjoy coffee while watching the banders set up. (Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

(Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

Dick and Kathy’s backyard as it normally looks. (Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

Removing external feeders and setting up the traps.

Dr. Chris Butler sets up a trap.

Dick and Kathy’s backyard minus all but two feeders, which are located in the traps. (Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

One of the traps used to capture hummingbirds. Note the hummingbird inside of the trap. (Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

Two observers, and two trappers! (Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

Erica carefully bags the captured hummingbird. (Photo Courtesy of Dick Ledbetter).

On the Saturday morning of the banding, the alarm went off much too early. On weekends, even I tend to sleep in an extra hour if I can. But we all three got up and quickly whipped ourselves into gear. FD and I made quick cups of coffee while Haley blended up a smoothie, and we headed down the road. Oddly, the three of us arrived at the Ledbetter home at the very same time the four professionals did. Dick quickly introduced us all to each other, and I immediately felt at ease as everyone else was dressed casual and looked just about as sleepy-eyed as we did. As we all moved to the backyard where the banding was to take place, I noticed Dick was removing all but two of his many hummingbird feeders. With the hummingbirds’ feeding options now limited , the team of banders got busy setting up two different types of trap apparatus. While they worked, FD and I visited with Dick while Kathy and Haley went inside to prepare coffee for everyone.

I did not realize until much later that we were in the company of some mighty important people in the hummingbird world. Dr. Chris Clark earned his Ph.D. at The University of California at Berkeley, and is now an Assistant  Professor of Biology at The University of California at Riverside, California.  As one might guess, he specializes in the study of hummingbirds. And Dr. Chris Butler, who did most of the actual banding during this event, graduated from Cornell University in New York and received his PhD from Oxford in England. He is the Associate Professor of Biology at University of Central Oklahoma. The two young ladies assisting in the banding, Erica and Katrina, who were also attending the AOU and COS joint meeting, had been previous students of Dr. Chris Butler. Had I known this information prior to meeting these folks, I might have been a lot more nervous, as I am about as novice as it gets when it comes to hummingbird knowledge!

Careful bagging of the hummingbird allows for ease of handling and causes little stress.

Tools of the trade.

Reading the band number.

Preparing to band the hummingbird.

Feather identification.

Dr. Chris Butler takes time to explain species identification.

I was busy with my camera most of the morning, darting here and there trying to get photos of everything, but I did manage to take time to observe each aspect of the banding. Erica and Katrina manned the traps. At first I thought they were missing quite a few opportunities to capture hummers, but I later learned they were particular about what species of hummingbird they were capturing. Waiting for just the right specimen took time. The traps were homemade, and really quite clever designs. Dr. Chris Butler, was kind to take time to explain the process, and answered our questions in layman’s terms. He was a most excellent teacher, involving us in the process of identifying the sex and species of the bird he held, while logging information on a data sheet. What impressed me even more was his gentle handling and care of the birds. He often offered nectar to the birds, and all movement was done in a way to keep the hummingbird calm, causing very little stress. And at the very end when the banding was complete, it was the gentle hands of experience that placed each bird in our waiting, outstretched hands, so that we could briefly experience the beating heart of the hummingbird.

Dr. Chris Butler gently places a hummingbird in Haley’s hand to let it fly free.

FD takes his turn holding a wee hummingbird.

My bird flew before it ever rested in my hand, and Haley captured the moment!

To be sure, besides plenty of friendly chatting, there was plenty of technical talk while we were there as well, including a lot of discussion by the group of professionals about hummingbirds that I did not understand. But what I did comprehend was a genuine desire by all to better understand this small bird and its behaviors. I sensed a need to help it flourish, and to protect its habitat and existence. More so, I know what I felt in the passing of this small, tender bird, from one human hand to another, was nothing short of magic.

© 2015 Day by Day the Farm Girl Way…

Hummingbird Facts (provided by Dick Ledbetter)

• Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world.
• Hummingbirds can flash their bright colors, as well as hide them when needed.
• The bright radiant color on hummingbirds comes from iridescent coloring like on a soap bubble or prism.
• A Gorget is the bright flashing colored feathers of the hummingbird’s neck.
• A hummingbird’s brain is 4.2% of its body weight, the largest proportion in the bird kingdom.
• Hummingbirds are very smart and they can remember every flower they have been to, and how long it will take a flower to refill.
• Hummingbirds can hear better than humans
• Hummingbirds can see farther than humans.
• Hummingbirds can see ultraviolet light.
• Hummingbirds have little to no sense of smell.
• A hummingbird will use its tongue to lap up nectar from flowers and feeders.
• A hummingbird’s tongue is grooved like the shape of a “W”.
• Hummingbirds have tiny hairs on the tip of the tongue to help lap up nectar.
• A hummingbird’s beak is generally shaped like any other bird beak, just longer in proportion to its body.
• The edges of the hummingbird’s top beak will overlap the edges of the hummingbird’s bottom beak.
• A hummingbird’s bottom beak is slightly flexible.
• Hummingbirds do not drink though their beaks like a straw. They lap up nectar with their tongues.
• A hummingbird’s heart can beat up to 1,260 times per minute.
• A Hummingbird’s heart beats about 250 times per minute at rest.
• A hummingbird’s heart is 2.5% of the total body weight.
• A hummingbird will take about 250 breaths per minute while at rest.
• A hummingbird’s metabolism is roughly 100 times that of an elephant.
• Hummingbirds have very weak feet and can barely walk. They prefer to fly.
• Hummingbirds like to perch.
• Hummingbirds spend most of their life perching.
• The hummingbird’s body temperature is around 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Hummingbirds are on average 8.5 centimeters long from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail.
• A hummingbird can weigh anywhere between 2 and 20 grams.
  
  • A penny weighs 2.5 grams
• 30% of a hummingbird’s weight consists of flight muscles
  
  • Humans pectoral muscles are about 5% of body weight
• Female hummingbirds are usually larger than male hummingbirds.
• An average sized hummingbird will have about 940 feathers.
• Females find iridescent feathers attractive.
• Hummingbirds do not mate for life.
• Male hummingbirds do not help raise the young.
• Female hummingbirds do all the nest building.
• When building their nest, many species of hummingbirds will use spider silk as the connective material. The spider silk allows the nest to comfortably widen as the baby birds grow. They also use lichen as a binder for the nests they build.
• A hummingbird baby is generally smaller than a penny.
• Females will lay a clutch of two eggs.
• A mother hummingbird may have more than one group of babies during the nesting season. When this happens, they will often start building a second nest while still waiting for the first group of tiny hummers to take flight.
• Baby hummingbirds cannot fly.
• Baby hummingbirds will remain in a nest for three (3) weeks.  Eggs take about two weeks to hatch.
• Baby hummingbirds do not like to get dirty. In fact, they will do everything they can to make sure they dispose of their waste over the edge of the nest.
• Most hummingbirds die in the first year of life.
• Hummingbirds have an average life span of about 5 years.
• Hummingbirds can live for more than 10 years.
• The oldest known hummingbird was a Broad-Tailed Hummingbird that was captured and tagged 12 years apart.
• Male hummingbirds are very aggressive and will chase another male hummingbird out of its territory.
• A hummingbird wings will beat about 70 times per second.
• Hummingbird’s wings will beat up to 200 times per second when diving.
• Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly both forward and backwards.
• Hummingbirds can also hover in mid-air, fly sideways and even upside-down.
• A hummingbird can fly an average of 25-30 miles per hour.
• A hummingbird can dive up to 60 miles per hour.
• A hummingbird’s wings will rotate in a full circle.
• Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds have been known to travel 500 miles over the Gulf of Mexico to breeding grounds.
• It is estimated that a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird takes about twenty (20) hours to fly across the Gulf of Mexico.
• Some hummingbirds will travel over two-thousand (2,000) miles twice a year during migration times.
• The Rufous Hummingbird travels the farthest north of any other hummingbird during migration. All the way from Mexico to Alaska.
• Hummingbird DO NOT migrate on the backs of geese.
• In North America we are very familiar with the ruby-throated hummingbird. One reason it’s so important to provide them with extra migration meals in the spring and fall is because they fly over the Gulf of Mexico, roughly 500 miles, without stopping. This is possible because they accumulate a layer of fat during migration season that doubles their body weight.
• Hummingbirds need to eat on average 7 times per hour for about 30-60 seconds.
• A hummingbird can eat anywhere from half (1/2) to eight (8) times its body weight a day.
• A hummingbird will visit an average of 1,000 flowers per day for nectar.
• Hummingbirds eat small soft bugs (gnats and small spiders) for protein.
• A hummingbird will lap up nectar at a rate of about 13 licks per second.
• Hummingbirds can double his/her weight before migration .
• Hummingbirds will not get addicted to a hummingbird feeder filled with nectar. The hummingbirds will leave when they need to.
• When hummingbirds sleep at night, they go into a hibernation-like state called torpor.
• Hummingbirds enter torpor to conserve energy.
• When a hummingbird goes into torpor, their metabolic rate is one-fifteenth (1/15) of normal sleep.
• Torpor can save up to 60% of a hummingbird’s available energy.
• When in torpor, and hummingbirds heart rate can drop to as few as 50 beats per minute.
• During torpor, a hummingbird can lower the body temperature to as low as 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
• When hummingbirds go into torpor, they will appear as if they are dead and have occasionally been found to be hanging upside-down.
• It can take up to an hour for a hummingbird to fully recover from torpor.
• Torpor can be fatal to a weak hummingbird.
• Hummingbirds are only found naturally in the Americas.
• Hummingbirds are found as far north as Alaska.
• Hummingbirds are found as far south as Chile.
• Hummingbirds are the second largest family of birds in the Western Hemisphere.
• There are more than 300 types or species of hummingbirds.
• Most of the types or species of hummingbirds are found in South America.
• The county of Ecuador has the largest number of types or species of hummingbirds.
• There are more than fifty (50) types or species of hummingbirds that breed in Mexico.
• There are more than fifteen (15) types or species of hummingbirds that breed in the United States.
• There are more than three (3) types or species of hummingbirds that breed in Canada.
• Hummingbirds are all part of the Trochilidae family of birds.
  
• Trochilidae is from the Greek trochilos, meaning small bird.
• There are two sub-families of hummingbirds:
  
  • Typical hummingbirds
  • Hermit hummingbirds
• Most hummingbird types or species do not migrate
• The smallest hummingbird is the Bee Hummingbird.
• The largest hummingbird is the Giant Hummingbird.
• White hummingbirds (or albino hummingbirds) are not a separate hummingbird type or species. They are regular hummingbirds that never developed color in their plumage.
• Hummingbirds don’t really sing, they chirp.
• A hummingbirds favorite color is red.
• Hummingbirds like tubular types of flowers the most.
• Hummingbirds pollinate flowers by rubbing their forehead and face in each flower as they get the nectar.
• Many plants depend on hummingbirds for pollination.
• Hummingbirds get their name from the humming sound produced by their wings when flying.
• Hummingbirds aren’t afraid of people. Well, once they get used to you that is. They aren’t afraid to approach you when you’re wearing your Hawaiian floral vacation shirt and see if there is any nectar in those prints.
• Early Spanish explorers called hummingbirds flying jewels.