FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] excitement intense with hummer banding

[Wallace Coffey <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Bristol Area Birders:

There was much excitement today in our region as
the finishing touches were made to identify and 
document five area winter hummingbirds.

The bird at Bristol Virginia brought cheers of
excitement to the hosts, their daughter and two
grandchildren as well as neigibors.  The excitement
was intense as the immature (hatching year) female
Rufous Hummingbird was taken in just mere minutes.

Chris Sloan from the Alabama-based Hummingbird
Study Group which bands hummingbirds in 19 states
made the quick capture, banding and identification.

The morning started in Greeneville, TN with the 
capture and banding of an adult, female Rufous.

At Larry McDanie's home in the Carter County portion
of Johnson City, a second adult, female Rufous
was taken.

The bird at Dr. Gary Wallace's home near Elizabethton
in Carter County -- a bird which was preplexing to 
observers  --  turned out to be another adult female
Rufous.  But not until it had been caught and escaped
without being banded during the banding process.

Chris Sloan was detrmined and the trap was returned
to position and everything put in place and a half hour
later the bird was captured for a second time.  This
time it was determined to be an adult, female 
Rufous.

At Roan Mountain, just below Hummingbird Hill, an
attempt was made to capture an adult, male Rufous
that had been seen there for some time, including
earlier in the week.  The roads were snowy and so
were the woods.  At a summer cabin on a very
steep mountainside, the banding party carried 
equipment down slope through snow-covered
woods and on to the back porch.  Larry McDaniel
hiked back up the mountain road to return with a
feeder with sugar water.  The one at the cabin was
frozen solid.

No bird was seen here and the effort was abandoned
after about 45 minutes of watching with trap in place.

The banding plarty included Sloan, Rick Knight,
Wallace Coffey, Larry McDaniel, Rack Cross and
Don Holt.  Many other family and friends were at
feeders along the way to see their birds banded.
McDaniel was not present for the bird at Bristol.

Sloan left out tonigth for Danville, Kentucky where
tomorrow he will try for two more hummers which
are at feeders.

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN


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       BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST

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Bird Club, Bristol Bird Club, Clinch Valley Bird Club
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