Last Saturday the third annual Wonder of Hummingbird Festival was held at Ijams. The event is co-produced by the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) and Ijams Nature Center.
Over 1,000 attended the birding fest which included several local vendors, a hummingbird banding demonstration and a full day of activities and speakers.
Ijams wants to especially thank Billie Cantwell, KTOS President, for all of her hard work/organizational skills, Master Bander Mark Armstrong, Curator of Birds at the Knoxville Zoo, and his team of banders and all the other members of the bird club for their dedicated help and support.
Mark says a total of 42 hummingbirds were banded in the practice session and the day of the festival itself. One male was caught four times, so either he didn't figure out what the cage-trap was or he liked been held and coddled. Also, we thank festival sponsors: Wild Birds Unlimited, Perky Pet, Prism Pools and Visionary Horizons Wealth Management. Many have asked me, "How do you catch and band something as lively and tiny as a hummingbird?" Here's a series of photos illustrating the process that only takes a few minutes, start to finish. - Photos and text by Stephen Lyn Bales |
 |
| Gar Secrist removes hummer caught in cage. |
 |
| Patty Ford transports two hummers to banding station |
 |
| Master Bander Mark Armstrong weighs, measures and attaches a leg band to each hummingbird. |
 |
| Mark Armstrong holds adult male hummingbird about to be released. |
 |
| After banding, hummer is laid on the outstretched hand of a visitor and then BLAST OFF! |
No comments:
Post a Comment