Hello, Beautiful!
There's the band! This little female Rufous hummingbird was first banded in my yard in the Winter of 2005-06! That means this bird is not only at least 4 years old, but she also has managed to find her way back to my yard from the west coast for 3 years in a row!
Nancy looks her over and takes measurements.
Rufous hummingbirds molt during the winter. One of this little gal's tail feathers came out while Nancy was checking her! You can see it in the next picture. Yes, I kept it :-)
Nancy checks her for fat. How embarrasing :-P
Nancy marks her with water soluble paint (Liquid Paper) so we can tell she's already banded. And I'll be able to tell her apart from any other hummers in my yard!
And then -- the Release! Hard to describe what a hummingbird feels like in the palm of your hand. Kind of like a feather with a heartbeat! Hopefully she wasn't too traumatized and will stick around for the rest of the winter...
1 comment:
I'm obviously a little behind readng your blog but what an exciting and incredible thing to be able to experience! Lucky you! Hopefully she is staying around this winter! Susan
Post a Comment