Spring 2019 Hummingbird Banding Update | MPG Ranch

Spring 2019 Hummingbird Banding Update

August 8, 2019

Eric Rasmussen summarizes results from the first half of the hummingbird banding season.

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Hummingbird Update 08/02/19 Eric Rasmussen

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Our aim is to investigate local hummingbird diversity, gather information on the timing of migration, and examine hummingbird natural history between two different habitats.

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Similar to previous years, we caught calliope and black-chinned hummingbirds at the floodplain site, and only calliope hummingbirds at the montane site

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Banding data from April-June over four years show that our totals this year closely match capture rates from 2016

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Of 497 hummingbirds banded throughout our study, we’ve recaptured 93

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We introduced calliope hummingbird K34373 last year as the “most caught hummingbird”. She continues to hold this title.

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This year we observed our second case of partial leucism, or loss of pigmentation, in the head feathers of a female calliope hummingbird.

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Male hummingbirds get the most attention for their dazzling iridescent throat feathers, also called a gorget. Many females develop partial gorgets.

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We have ten sessions left this year with more visitors scheduled.

Previous Research Update

DNA Barcoding Results From 2018 Fecal Sampling

Next Research Update

Summer 2019 Motus Update