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Hummingbird Banding

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A male ruby throated hummingbird hovers in Wyalusing State Park Thursday. (Photos by Ted Pennekamp)

Female ruby throated hummingbirds were much more abundant than males during the banding program Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Adult females are slightly larger than males.

The bands for ruby throated hummingbirds are tiny. The bands for males are smaller than for females.

Zookeeper Cassie Sajkowski carefully reaches for a hummingbird inside of a trap.

A hummer pauses for a split second in a girl’s hand upon being released.

People gather around the banding table Thursday morning to observe and learn while Mickey O’Connor (lower left) measures, weighs and bands, and Jane Austin records the information.

 

People enjoy hummingbird banding in Wyalusing State Park

By Ted Pennekamp

 

Many people have backyard hummingbird feeders in the summer months, and hummingbird banding has become an increasingly popular program at Wyalusing State Park within the last few years. 

There were 15 to 20 people at any given moment during the ebb and flow of the hummingbird banding program this past Thursday morning from about 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Banding was also conducted on Wednesday evening, Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. 

Youngsters and adults observed hummingbirds being caught, weighed, measured, banded, and released, all while having their numerous questions answered by a pair of informative zookeepers from the Milwaukee County Zoo.

“Nobody has ever studied hummingbirds in Wisconsin,” said master bander and zookeeper Mickey O’Connor, who noted that the wings, tails and bills are measured before the hummers are weighed, banded and released. Some lucky park patrons got to hold a ruby throated hummingbird in their hand for a split second before the bird zipped away to find more nectar.

Twenty-two hummers were banded in one hour on Wednesday evening near the Wyalusing State Park office. Two of those were ruby throated females that had previously been banded at Wyalusing, one in 2015 and the other in 2016.

There was plenty of action, and by 9:20 a.m. on Thursday, 15 females and six males had been banded. The pace picked up after that with many more captures being made by 10 a.m.

“We want to learn where are Wisconsin hummingbirds migrating,” said O’Connor. “So, we would like to have banders in other parts of the United States and the world capture some of our banded birds.” O’Connor said the banding is important in trying to understand not only their migration, but also their longevity and site fidelity in Wisconsin.

O’Connor said that she was trained in hummingbird banding in 2013 and has been coming to Wyalusing State Park for the banding program since 2014. O’Connor measures, weighs and bands the birds, while volunteer Jane Austin records all of the information. 

Zookeeper Cassie Sajkowski and volunteer Karen Stephany capture the hummers after they fly into wire traps that have been placed over the hummingbird feeders the birds have been using all summer just outside of the park office. The birds fly into the traps in an effort to get to the feeders and can’t get out again. They are then carefully caught by hand and placed into small mesh pouches and taken to the nearby banding table.

“The science part is great, but we also really like the people part,” said O’Connor who noted that the researchers enjoy having people watch the process and ask questions. Educational pamphlets and photos are also available near the banding table.

O’Connor said that people should clean their hummingbird feeders and replace the nectar at least every three days in order to help prevent mold and disease. She also advised that feeders should be kept out as long as possible because species more associated with the western part of the United States, such as Rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds, have been showing up more in Wisconsin in recent years.  

The ruby throated hummingbird is the species most often seen in Wisconsin, and O’Connor emphasized it is a myth that if one leaves a feeder out too long, it will disrupt the ruby throated migration. “They migrate when they are ready to migrate, regardless,” she said.

O’Connor explained that Rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds migrate later than ruby throated. “If there are hummingbirds around your feeder after October, it is something other than a ruby throated,” she said. If a person in Wisconsin sees a Rufous or Anna’s hummingbird, they should report it to O’Connor at sharpbill@aol.com or at (214) 980-3103.

The ruby throated hummingbird spends its summers in much of eastern North America and spends its winters in Mexico and Central America. Their range is extensive, reaching well into Canada. The hummers migrate alone and during the day, unlike songbirds that migrate in flocks and at night. Astoundingly, during migration, some of the ruby throated hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico, a more than 500-mile, non-stop journey, which takes them approximately 18 hours. They accomplish this by nearly doubling their weight prior to departing from the coast.

Some fun facts that O’Connor noted for those gathered were that adult ruby throated hummingbirds have smooth bills, while the juveniles have bumps on their bills. Also, hummingbird eggs are about the size of a Tic Tac and the nest is the size of a walnut. Hummingbirds can reach speeds of 50 mph and are the only bird that can fly backward readily and easily.

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