Hummingbird Banding at Onondaga Cave State Park 8/6/2011

I spent part of the day photographing Lanny Chambers and his wife, Linda, banding ruby-throated hummingbirds at Onondaga Cave State Park. Lanny is a licensed hummingbird bander and has a wonderful website: http://www.hummingbirds.net where he has a wealth of information on hummingbirds. There were quite a few people watching and nearly a dozen birds banded while I was there with my friend, Tina.

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> There was a steady stream of visitors viewing hummingbird banding at Onondaga Cave State Park on 8/6/11. And it was a hot day, 97 with 107 heat index.

> Lanny adjusts the orange cording so the net on the Hall Trap will drop properly. Linda will release the cord to capture a bird.

> An immature bird is at the feeder. Linda lets them get a drink or two before dropping the net to trap the bird.

> And, it is quickly and safely caught in the net.

> Lanny's hand enters the trap net to take out the young ruby-throated hummingbird.

> The ruby-throated hummingbird is carefully and quickly removed from the trap.

> It's time for some jewelry! This bird is squeaking and fussing about it! "All four letter words!" says Lanny.

> Two of the young visitors watch Lanny handle the hummingbird as Linda waits to record his findings.

> Linda's job is to help trap the birds by releasing the orange line at just the right moment to capture the bird. See it? It's held by the clothespin on the toolbox. She also records all the data, which is then entered into a nationwide data base for scientific study.

> Lanny puts the ruby-throated hummingbird into a stocking to calm it and get its weight.

> The ruby-throated hummingbird in the nylon stocking is now on the scale.

> The safety pin holds the hummingbird bands, all numbered. The females are a bit larger than the males and need a size larger band.

> Lanny clamps the band on this ruby-throated hummingbird's left leg.

> This hummingbird now has band #L4872x on its left leg with Lanny holding its little foot. Will it be caught south of here? Will it return next year? Lots of questions from the visitors.

> Another view of the tiny band that the ruby-throated hummingbird will wear the rest of its life. Note the shiny black 'poo' all indigestible bug parts!

There was a steady stream of visitors viewing hummingbird banding at Onondaga Cave State Park on 8/6/11. And it was a hot day, 97 with 107 heat index.

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