[TN-Bird] Loving some birds to death by banding

TN-Birders,

As a bird-watcher and not an ornithologist (all my graduate school training in 
field zoology was under the tutelage of an ichthyologist), I appreciate all of 
you who took the time to reply to my post, LOVING SOME BIRDS TO DEATH BY 
BANDING.  There were several replies posted directly to the TN-BIRD list and I 
received several replies directly to my email account not posted here at the 
discussion group.  Some of you, by the way, have a wicked sense of humor!  I am 
always amazed at how this medium for an exchange of ideas and information can 
be so educational, timely, and cost efficient!

My original premise (that we are running the risk of loving some species of 
birds to death) seems most evident.  None of the replies addressed that primary 
premise.  No one seems to want to address the fact that if a particular species 
of bird is in short numbers, that perhaps we should leave that species alone in 
the environment in which we find it.  Sure, look at it (but not in such droves 
as to frighten it away) and admire it and photograph it (but be careful with 
too many flashguns) -- and if it doesn't present itself when you think it 
should, be careful in the use of noise (pishing, recordings, banging on the 
side of the tree, etc) to make it show itself. 

I have learned in all of this that the recovery rate on the bands placed on 
birds varies greatly by species:  birds that are hunted have the highest return 
rate (in the range of 20% or so); song-bird bands have very low recovery rates 
-- from less than 0.2% to about 2%.  Overall, the band recovery rate for all 
species is in the range of 6% to 7%. 

The one example of the Calliope Hummingbird (in Ohio) killed in the banding 
process is an isolated event -- but it still proves my point that in some cases 
the entire known population (100%) of a species in a specific county in a 
specific state is killed by banding.  Birds in plentiful supply can be banded 
all you wish -- but when you are dealing with  "one-of-a-kind" perhaps it is 
best not to bother the bird for fear of loving it to death.

Just because we can do something doesn't mean that we should -- and just 
because we can report the presence of a "one-of-a-kind" species of birds on our 
property to a bander with a valid permit to band doesn't mean we should -- and 
just because a bird-watcher who has a permit to band doesn't mean he or she 
should!

One poster even suggested that since the Calliope was so far from its range 
that it was probably "lost" and weak anyway -- as if that makes killing it a 
justifiable act.  There is no question that the banding of birds has been of 
tremendous value in the scientific study of ornithology -- and there is no 
question that we probably need many more carefully designed and carefully 
implemented scientific studies that would require banding.  But to 
indiscriminately band birds because they are "lost" or out of their range seems 
callous and self-serving when the risk to the bird is its very survival.  

Perhaps we should also question why the United States has the highest 
concentration of banders in the world.   Do we really need so many 
bird-watchers with a permit to band?

Most all species of birds have been included in numerous previous research 
studies -- to justify banding a "one-of-a-kind" species to just learn where it 
came from seems an awful risk in light of the fact that that information is 
readily available to anyone willing to spend the time reading or researching.  
Just because the study was done a decade ago or for that matter, ten decades 
ago as banding in the U.S. is now 100 years old, doesn't mean the study is 
flawed and you should start all over again.  I don't have to band a Calliope 
Hummingbird to know what its normal range is, what its breeding range is, and 
where it has been sighted previously -- all that information is already 
available.

One study I believe should be done is to investigate why after a year of 
numerous Eastern U.S. sightings of "stray" hummingbirds far from their normal 
Western range is there often a year with almost no sightings in the east of the 
same species?  Does all the banding during the plentiful year kill them off?  
Couldn't we all agree that for a few years we will leave these tiny creatures 
alone except for visual observations and see if they can establish themselves 
as a breeding group here in the east?  Of course such a study would require a 
ban on banding during the winter months and then during the breeding season of 
stray hummers, wouldn't it?  I, for one, will not report the presence of any 
"stray" or "lost" hummers at my feeders (but I will be happy to share with any 
of you how I kept my hummingbird feeder "juice" warm during below zero degrees 
here on the Plateau feeding a "lost stray" a few seasons ago).

And finally, thanks to all of you who invited me to your banding stations, 
homes, or sent me your telephone numbers.  I know all I need to know about 
banding, thank you.  It is clear that all of you on this discussion group who 
have banding permits are kind and generous people who love birds.  All I ask is 
that you think twice about banding the "one-of-a-kind" strays -- and I pray 
that you don't kill out a species of birds in a region by "loving it to death 
by banding."


Regards,

Terry Thornton
Rinnie, TN (North of Crossville on the Cumberland Plateau)

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