Subject: FWD: Louisiana Hummingbird Banding - Winter 2000-2001
Date: Apr 2 19:58:47 2001
From: Mike Patterson - celata at pacifier.com


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Louisiana Hummingbird Banding - Winter 2000-2001

The following is a summary of the hummingbird banding activities of Dave
Patton, Linda Beall, and Nancy Newfield over the course of the 2000-2001
winter season. This project was initiated in 1979 as a means of documenting
the numbers and species assortment of hummingbirds that spend the winter
months in Louisiana. Traditional wisdom of the 1970s was that any hummers
occurring during the winter months were vagrants or they were Ruby-throats
that forgot to migrate after the nesting season. At that time, it was
thought that nearly all wintering hummers perished to cold weather.

The season, as we define it, begins with the arrival of the first
non-Ruby-throated Hummingbird in late summer. Typically, the first arrivals
are in August and most are returnees from previous seasons. During the
early part of the season, we primarily attempt to verify returning hummers.
Later, as several birds stake out territories at a site, we try to capture
and band as many as possible. Because the last stage of Ruby-throated
southward migration extends well into December, it is difficult to
categorize individuals of that species early in the winter banding season.
Therefore, we arbitrarily define wintering for this species as those we
encounter on or after 15 November, though some of those birds may actually
be tardy migrants.

The banding season ends in late February or early March as wintering birds
begin leaving and summer resident Ruby-throateds begin arriving. At that
time, wintering birds become more difficult to catch and banding trips
become less productive, though some wintering birds stay well into April or
even early May.

Totals for the 2000-2001 season are:

Broad-billed Hummingbird 1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 22 [+9 returnees]
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 61 [+1 returnee]
Black-chinned Hummingbird 53 [+1 returnee + 1 foreign recapture]
Calliope Hummingbird 19 [+2 returnees]
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3
Rufous Hummingbird 254 [+19 returnees & 1 foreign recapture]
Allen's Hummingbird 3

Total = 416 individuals of 8 species
[+32 returnees & 2 foreign recaptures]

This total is 2 1/2 times the previous record number [166 individuals of 9
species + 18 returnees & 1 foreign recapture] banded in the 1999-2000 winter
season! All three banders are self-employed, allowing some flexibility in
scheduling, but none were able to devote more than 2 days per week to the
project.

All were banded in the southern third of the state, roughly the area south
of the Interstate 10/12 line. Patton covered the area from Baton Rouge
westward, while Newfield covered Baton Rouge eastward, excepting St.
Tammany
Parish, which was primarily covered by Beall. St. Tammany Parish was
formerly
covered by Newfield. We all banded in Baton Rouge and probably caught
only
a fraction of the hummers around. The Lafayette area covered by Patton
had
about the same number of birds as in the previous high season of 1995-1996.
Newfield's portion held enough to provide her a personal best. Beall, who
recently began banding hummers, established a benchmark to set next year's
expectations.

The Louisiana Winter Hummingbird Project differs substantially from
passerine migration banding studies. Most sites host only a few
hummers, so
efforts must be made to catch individuals rather than mist-netting whichever
birds might pass through. Most captures are made using cage wire traps
placed around a feeder. Mist nets and other types of traps are used
occasionally.

We are constantly seeking new and better capture methods. In 1999, John
Owens invented a remote electronic trap tripper that enables the bander to
trap without being tethered to a monofilament cord. This has enabled us to
trap more effectively and while doing other tasks. Often, it is not
necessary for us to be outdoors, certainly a welcome comfort in cold
weather. Thank you, John! All trapping took place in backyards and gardens
typical of the area. Hummers were attracted to nectar-producing plants and
feeders. Most hummerhosts garden specifically to attract hummers. At no
time were feeders the only source of food.

Almost all birds were color-marked, using a non-toxic acrylic paint on their
crowns. Color-marking allowed us to avoid repeatedly capturing the same
birds and it permitted hummerhosts to specifically identify each individual.
Color-marking enabled the hosts to distinguish lookalikes and to notice new
birds as they appeared. In several locations, we found more individuals
present than had been tallied by the hosts. In most locations, the roster
of individuals did not remain constant. Instead, while a few individuals
defended territories throughout the winter, many seemed to be traplining
over a fairly large area. This required us to make two or more visits
to a
number of sites as new birds replaced birds that had already been banded.

Weather can play a significant role in this project. We do not band during
subfreezing temperatures or during heavy rain, but neither was a major
factor this winter. Dense fog can impede travel, though at no time did it
become dense enough to cause us to abandon a planned trip. Only two
days of
planned banding had to be rescheduled because of heavy rain. Most of the
region experienced frost and brief periods of freezing weather during
December and January. These episodes reduced flowering of many subtropical
plants, making hummers somewhat more dependent on feeders.

The productiveness of individual sites varies from year to year. The
Robichaux home in Raceland produced 44 new birds [5 species] and 3 returnees
- an all-time high! The previous high for that site was 6 individuals
of 2
species. The Sylvest home in Gramercy yielded 25 new birds and 1 returnee.
Yet, only a single Rufous was banded at the regularly productive Street home
in LaPlace.

Rufous are always the most numerous wintering species in our area. Most
years, their numbers comprise slightly more than 50% of the total number of
hummers banded. They were especially numerous this winter with the total
number banded [254] almost 3 times the previous high number [87 in
1999-2000] of Rufous banded in a winter season. Their numbers account for
more than 60% of the 2000-2001 total. This is all the more interesting in
light of this species' "declining" status.

Ruby-throateds have always been rare in winter in Louisiana. This season's
total of 61 far exceeds the previous high number of 15! For the first
season ever, Ruby-throateds ranked second on order of abundance. However,
these birds were not evenly distributed throughout our area. Large numbers
of Ruby-throateds seemed to be concentrated in the extreme southeastern part
of the state - Thibodaux, Raceland, the River Parishes.

Black-chinned numbers were also up. The 53 individuals banded were
significantly more than the previous season's 17. Their numbers seemed to
be rather evenly distributed among the various parts of the state covered.
In the early years of this project, Black-chinneds outnumbered
Ruby-throateds by a factor of four.

Buff-bellied totals [22] were similar to last year's numbers [21], but the
number of returnees [9] was twice as many as last year [4]. One probable
returnee could not be caught. Considering the small number of Buff-bellieds
handled, the percentage of returnees is far higher than the percentage of
returnees for any other species.

Calliope first appeared in Louisiana in 1982 and it is still on the state
review list, but the 19 banded should give the powers that be cause to
examine this bird's status. Last season, 9 were banded.

Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, and Allen's are always rare and this season was
no exception. Fewer Broad-tailed and Allen's were banded than last year,
though those statistics are probably not significant considering the small
percentage of the whole total they represent. No Anna's were definitely
reported anywhere in our area.

It was a season of many highlights! In the third week of January, Beall
captured a female Black-chinned at her Covington home that had been banded
in Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Bob Sargent only a couple of days before.
This bird was obviously migrating at a time when hummers are presumed to be
resident on their wintering grounds. The distance between the two sites is
about 95 miles. It remained only a couple of days.

About two weeks later, at the Sylvest "Winter Hummerland" home in Gramercy,
Newfield captured another of Sargent's birds. This time it was a female
Rufous that had been banded in Aliceville, Alabama, in late November 2000.
This bird had last been seen at its original site 15 days before its
recapture. The distance between the two sites is about 320 miles. This
bird enjoyed Louisiana hospitality for more than a month before moving
on.

Returnees prove winter survival and give us data concerning longevity. One
highlight of the season was the 23 July appearance of a banded adult
Buff-bellied Hummingbird at the Nowell home in LaPlace, a returnee, which
had been an adult when banded in February 1993. Because this individual was
an adult when it was banded, we can be sure it was hatched no later than the
breeding season of 1991. This bird, nicknamed "Junkyard Dog" because of his
irascible demeanor, set the longevity record for its species. He was not
captured for verification until 26 February at which time he was nearing 10
years of age. The wily Junkyard Dog was fat and healthy in appearance. He
was last seen 1 March.

2 Calliope returnees in the Baton Rouge area doubled the number of returnees
recorded in Louisiana for that species. Yards with the proper habitat to
attract Calliopes often attract several.

In November 2000, a female Ruby-throated, banded as an immature at the Owens
home in Covington in November 1999, was recaptured at the Rudiger home about
4 miles away. All other returnees were captured at the site where they were
banded. After the aforementioned Buff-bellied, the oldest were 6 Rufous
banded as immatures during the 1996-1997 winter season. One of these birds
had not been recorded during the years since banding despite regular winter
banding at that site. Another Rufous returned from the winter of 1998-1999.
The remaining returnees had been banded during the 1999-2000 winter season.

A banded adult male Ruby-throated resided at the Nowell home in LaPlace all
season, but he evaded capture. He is thought to be an individual that was
an adult when banded at the Street home in LaPlace in December 1997. That
bird was captured at the Nowell home and at the Street home the previous
winter season. These two sites are more than .5 miles apart and several
other banded birds have been known to go back and forth between them.

The Louisiana Winter Hummingbird Project has benefitted from the
enthusiastic assistance and generosity of numerous people. Many hummerhosts
opened their doors at ungodly hours and sustained us with strong coffee,
juice, breakfast and lunch. Several maintained a running tally of birds in
their cities or towns and set up banding day schedules for us. Others
wrangled equipment, trapped birds, and recorded data. We thank James Beck,
Laurie Binford, Olga Clifton, Miriam Davey, Les Eastman, Carol Foil, Bill
Fontenot, Steve Locke, Beth and Sammy Maniscalco, Charlie Muise, Rose and
Jack Must, John and Margaret Owens, Stacy Peterson, Lisa Robichaux, John
Sevenair, Gene and Edna Street, Tom and Eloise Sylvest for the many hours
they have invested in this project. We appreciate your special help - and
we'll be looking for you next season!

Nancy L. Newfield
Casa Colibr??
Metairie, Louisiana USA
<colibri at gs.verio.net>

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--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html