volunteers have migrated to the marsh fall and hummingbird banding by Mo Fahmy

So lucky to have such a great flock of volunteers

volunteers from left to right Mo Fahmy  (Egypt) Sarah Biesemier (Virginia)  Bronwyn "T.G" Robinson (ontario) Nic Alioto (Ontario)

close up of the birds the crew is holding in the first photo from left to right  veery, hermit  thrush swainsons thrush

Once again we are super lucky to have been able to attract some wonderful people to the marsh to allow us to carry out our songbird and owl migration monitoring. We have had a very successful August so far and will be blogging about our results at the end of the month.

Sarah Biessmierer with her first flicker fantastic fun  try saying that five times fast

 We have had an excellent month so far. The fine crew has had their collective arms twisted and will be each contributing to the blog on a daily basis. First in line is a contribution from Mo Fahmy so without any further adieu here is what Mo has to say

Hummingbird banding by Mo Fahmy

Banding hummingbirds was not what I expected upon my return to the Hilliardton Marsh. Murph and Jo took me under their wing and showed me how to band the minute birds. Weighing no more than 4 grams, the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds travel south from Canada (their breeding grounds) to Central and South America by crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

MO displaying the perfect  way to hold a hummingbird

To band, a hummingbird is different from banding even the smallest of songbirds. First, one wraps the bird “like a cat”, as Murph would say. Then, one holds the bird between the ring and little finger. Afterward, one isolates a leg (the right leg in our protocol) from the cloth the bird is wrapped in. Now the band can be attached to the leg and the bird acquires a unique number for identification when caught again. Most of the hummingbirds we have been catching the last few days are birds that have hatched this year, which are known to have grooving along with the sides of their bill. Their parents tend to migrate earlier (around the first week of August). Only the adult males adorn the ruby gorget feathers on their throats, which creates a challenge in identifying the sex of younger birds. However, when one cannot find ruby gorget feathers, two important measurements help identify the sex of the hummingbird: the length of the wing and the culmen. Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are larger than males. So, they have a longer bill and wings.

Tiny tiny bands for a hummingbird as you can imagine 

We have banded 62 hummingbirds since the beginning of August. We banded three today (August 29, 2018). 74 hummingbirds were banded in August 2017, and 150 in 2016. We are already eager for their return next Spring as we bid them farewell upon their departure.

Data Data Data

If you are around and would like to help out the marsh and have some fun please join us for our annual fund raising golf tourney Saturday September the 8th. The "forecast" is "fore" fun!!!!