2017 Banding Season Starts with a Bang

We had a great year at the 2017 Hummingbird Roundup. Special thanks to our trapping crew and all those who helped out. They did an exceptional job interacting with the visitors and handling birds in a safe manner. Thanks to Tim Rudeen who gave rides up the hill to so many. We received nothing but complements about this year's roundup.

It is always great fun to collaborate with banders Stacy Jon Peterson, Palmer, Alaska, and Heidi Ware from IBO (Intermountain Bird Observatory). They always make each visitor feel special and help teach about hummingbirds and the environment. We learn a lot from both of them every year.

This year's birds:
360 newly banded birds
242 returns This is an amazingly high 40% return rate!
602 TOTAL

Species numbers:
258 Calliope      72% of all newly banded birds
Broad-Tailed     42 males, 35 females
Black-Chinned  13 males, 12 females

Interesting birds and observations:
8 year old birds: 2 Black-Chinned females and 2 Broad-Tailed females
A 7 year old Calliope female has been captured every year since her banding in 2011.
A 5 year old Black-Chinned female had 6-8 large, black feathers on the bottom row of her throat area.