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It was early Monday morning when fellow bird lover Alison and I left Tucson. The sun was already peeking over the Rincon Mountains as we drove south on I-10. The view was less than spectacular since it was incredibly windy the day before which stirred up tons of dust. Through the haze we could make out the Santa Rita Mountains to the south, our destination for the day. We were heading to Madera Canyon, on the northwest side of the range, to watch (and hopefully participate in) a hummingbird banding research project.

The project is sponsored by the non-profit Hummingbird Monitoring Network, an “organization dedicated to the conservation of hummingbird diversity and abundance throughout the Americas.” The group formed in 2002 with the realization that all 330 plus species of hummingbirds live in the New World, close to 10% of them are threatened or endangered, and precious little is known about their life cycles. The new effort hoped to achieve similar success as Monarch Watch which has gained valuable information about Monarch Butterfly behavior, migration, life patterns, and habitats since the inception of their tagging program in 1992.

The HMN program that began in 2002 with nine monitoring sites in Arizona and two in California has grown to over 32 sites, expanding to Texas, British Columbia, and Colorado in recent years. Though the majority of their efforts have been in North America, HMN is in the process of adding monitoring sites in Mexico. Currently southeastern Arizona has ten banding stations, one of which is in Madera Canyon.

We parked in the canyon around 7:30 AM and immediately joined the group of enthusiastic birders on the deck of the Chuparosa Inn, where the hummingbird banding station is set up. (Fittingly chuparosa is the Spanish word for hummingbird, it literally translates as “rose sucker.”) It was still dark in the canyon and quite cold as the sun had yet to warm the air. The banding crew: George, his wife Ellen, and Neil, had started just before 6 that morning when the temperature was a balmy 35 F˚! Several of the attendees wore gloves and were warmly bundled up; we on the other hand, were not so well prepared. It had not occurred to me since it was in the 60s when we left Tucson that morning. I should have known better—Madera Canyon is much higher in elevation and opposite the rising sun.

We arrived at the tail end of a Black-chinned Hummingbird’s measurements, the tiny bird was placed in the palm of an eager helper who stood in the sun allowing the hummer to warm up. After a few minutes of resting quietly the small being shook itself and took flight with a buzz, disappearing in an instant. Our small crowd murmured with amazement. A few minutes later Alison and I witnessed the entire process from start to finish.

In the beginning, there was a feeder. Actually, two feeders, both covered by a Hall trap. Trap doesn’t quite seem to be the right word, it was a net, like a mosquito net, that dangled above the feeder. When the hummingbird swooped in to feed Neil released the net (by string from a distance) thus “trapping” the little creature in with the feeder. As far as we could tell most of the birds that day didn’t even notice the net, they were so busy feeding. Carefully and deliberately, Neil moved toward the feeder armed with a mesh bag. He quickly identified it as a male Broad-billed before slowly sliding his hand under the net and gently grasping the hummingbird. The colorful bird was placed inside the mesh bag and carried up to the measuring table.

The table was capably manned by Dr. George West, a retired ornithologist and one of the founding members of HMN. George held the delicate bird with its head between his fore and middle fingers supporting its body with his palm. Most of the birds were quiet and still, though a few did squirm and squeak a bit before settling down. Quickly, the bird was positively identified, sexed, and aged. Deftly, measurements were made of the bird’s wing, tail, and bill lengths, then it was gently wrapped in a section of mesh and placed on the scale. Back in hand, the bird was checked for pollen and fat stores and if female, for any signs of reproduction (such as egg carrying). Finally, if not already banded, the bird was banded with a tiny strip of metal embossed with a unique identification number. The bird was then given the opportunity to feed before being released, with most birds greedily gulping down the sugar mixture.

All the data was dutifully recorded in the logbook which George explained he would later tabulate and submit to HMN. The protocol for hummingbird banding is quite strict with the bird’s welfare the preeminent concern. None of the birds are to be held for over a half hour, so if it was a very birdy day some birds might be released without measurements. Since it was early in the season and there were not that many hummers we did not have that problem, most of them were only waylaid ten minutes or so. In the middle of the morning we went a whole hour without seeing any hummingbirds at all. It turned out to be a good thing since people slowly wandered away leaving only Alison, myself, Nancy, Denny (they are in the canyon most Mondays) and the banding team. We utilized the time to pepper George with questions about hummingbirds and the banding process, which he seemed happy to answer.

The banding process had been of concern to us, especially in light of what had just happened to Macho B. Briefly: Macho B was one of four documented Jaguars roaming free in the United States, which is part of their historic range. First photographed in Arizona in 1996, Macho B was caught on film well north of the Mexican border multiple times over the years, leading biologists to believe that he was the last wild Jaguar in the country. The photos of Macho B and three other Jaguars along with physical evidence helped get Jaguars listed on the Endangered Species List in 1997.

Fast forward 12 years. A team of biologists with the Arizona Game and Fish Department are out in the mountains south of Tucson trapping and studying bears and mountain lions. Instead, on February 18th Macho B ends up in the leg-snare trap and the decision is made to tranquilize him and outfit him with a tracking collar. For the first few days all seemed well and AGFD made the proud announcement that they had placed the first collar on a wild Jaguar. Unfortunately, Macho B took a turn for the worse, lingering in a small area for several days. Concerned about his health, biologists re-trapped, re-tranquilized, and air-lifted the Jaguar to the veterinary facilities at the Phoenix Zoo. Within hours it was determined that the 15-16 year-old Macho B was suffering from kidney failure and he was euthanized.

It was a sad, sad story that only gets worse as more details are uncovered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now launched a full investigation of not only Macho B’s cause of death but the actions of the state biologists. On a positive note, Macho B’s story catapulted the plight of Jaguars into mainstream media and on March 23rd a federal judge ruled that under the Endangered Species Act the government must develop a recovery plan for the large cats. So understandably Alison and I had concerns about whether the benefits to science outweighed the risk to the animal’s well-being. After our morning at the hummingbird banding site my mind was put at ease, at least in that case.

Our hummingbird-less hour ended shortly after 9 AM as a Broad-billed flew in to feed. George explained that the birds flock to the feeders immediately in the morning since they are hungry after a long night without food, but then the frenzy dies down. One after another Neil trapped and George measured hummingbirds: Broad-billed, Broad-billed, Broad-billed, Magnificent, Broad-billed, a female Anna’s that looked like a male, and another Broad-billed. Several of the birds, including our strangely plumaged Anna’s had been banded in previous years. She was first banded as a normal looking adult female in 2004, and still looked normal when re-trapped in 2006. Now however, though she is still sexually a female she looks like a male with the red gorget. At a glance I would have identified her as a male Anna’s—shows just how much I have yet to learn about birds!

At the end of banding that morning we tallied 28 individuals from six species, not a bad number considering migration is just beginning. George and other volunteers will band every other week from March through October with their busiest times in June and August. Later in the season far more species will come through—18 have been documented in Arizona, the most of any state except Texas. It was a great experience for me as it was my first chance to hold a hummingbird. Not only did I get to hold a Broad-billed but I was also fortunate enough to hold a Magnificent. What a bird! I could actually feel his weight in my palm, compared to the smaller Broad-billed which I could only really sense his body heat. From what I remember my Broad-billed weighed in at just over 3 grams (roughly the same as one pre-1982 penny¹) while the Magnificent topped the scales at a whopping 8.3 grams.

And that was just the beginning of our day in Madera Canyon. Leaving the banding site we joined Nancy and Denny outside Madera Kubo B & B where Painted Redstarts, a male Arizona Woodpecker, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Bridled Titmouse, a male Hepatic Tanager, and a vibrant male Scott’s Oriole entertained us with their various feeding techniques. The Arizona took several minutes to back his way down to the suet feeder, only to be chased off by a pair of territorial Acorn Woodpeckers. The other birds were subjected to the obnoxious behavior of a group of Mexican Jays—whom we could hear well before we saw.

Leaving Kubo we hit the trail searching for some new migrant warblers and scored a group of Black-throated Gray Warblers. After noon Nancy and Denny took their leave so Alison and I headed up to the pyracantha near the picnic area. There were several other birders milling around and we had only been there about ten minutes when Alison spotted a male Elegant Trogon. It was a first for both us and we were quite excited about it. Unfortunately, our crowd made such a ruckus about the bird that he flew off across the road. Quietly and with mixed feelings I followed the talkative and loud throng. My worries were assuaged as the seemingly unperturbed bird was perched on an oak branch about five feet off the ground.

At one point he flew to the ground and hopped around before returning to his perch. I had the impression he was feeding, on just what I don’t know. The Trogon continued for at least 15 minutes, to the delight of his fans, until two thoughtless and selfish men advanced on the bird causing him to fly away. Their behavior brought to mind the topic of birding etiquette, which has the local birding community all a flutter. As birding grows in popularity the impact of human actions on birds, especially in the case of Megas (very rare species), has many concerned about the animal welfare. It is a topic well worth contemplating as we have witnessed some egregious behavior in the past. Not that I am above reproach, I know my excitement has carried me away at times though I try to contain myself. And in a way, maybe we should be thrilled that people are still amazed by the natural world. I know that’s the feeling I left with that day!

Photos: View our photographs from Banding Day in Madera Canyon.

Dates: Alison and I visited Madera Canyon on March 23rd, 2009.

Notes:

¹ The U.S. Mint changed the composition of metals used to make pennies in 1982. So pennies pre-1982 weigh roughly 3.1 grams while pennies minted after that weigh a mere 2.5 grams. ↩