Archive for the ‘Banding’ Category

Banders: Brent & Sue Ortego, and Bron Rorex

This is our 3^rd trip of our 5^th season banding hummingbirds in the Texas Hill Country. We make 4 monthly trips during each breeding season. We caught hummingbirds and songbirds for 4 hours at each of 3 ranches during the weekend 7-8 June 2008

Winds ranging from 15-25 mph all weekend made capturing hummingbirds and songbirds very difficult. Capture rates of hummingbirds were very low this trip as compared to past years, and likely much of this was due to the weather. However, not all differences to past years can be explained by the weather.

We did not recapture enough birds from previous trips to be able to make reasonable estimates of the population this month.

Burditt Ranch, Leakey

Caught 239 in June 2006, 200 in June 2007, and 354 in May 2008. We caught 162 Black-chinned Hummingbirds on this trip: 32 adult and 45 immature males, and 59 adult and 26 immature females. We had 44% of the birds as young with only 28% in 2007 and 22% in 2006. Only 35% of the adults were male this month as compared to 54% in 2007 and 42% in 2006.

46% of adult females showed evidence of having nested while 75% did in 2007 and 85% in 2006.

Ranch fed 3.86 gallons per day the week prior to banding in June.

Matter Ranch, Comfort

Caught 65 in June 2006, 104 in June 2007, and 136 in May 2008. We caught 52 Black-chins on this trip: 21 adult and 8 immature males and 22 adult and 1 immature female. We had 17% of the hummingbirds as young with only 4% in 2006 and 2007. 49% of the adults were male this month as compared to 50% in 2006 and 2007.

55% of the adult females showed evidence of having nested while 90% did in 2007 and 74% in 2006.

Ranch fed 1.75 gallons per day the week before banding in June.

Wiedenfeld Ranch, Comfort

Caught 102 in June 2006, 310 in June 2007, and 332 in May 2008. We caught 44 Black-chins on this trip: 5 adult and 10 immature males, and 25 adult and 4 immature females. We had 32% of the hummingbirds as young with only 3% young in 2007. Males represented only 17% of the adults as compared to 44% in 2007 and 35% in 2006.

64% of the adult females showed evidence of having nested while 64% did in 2007 and 92% did in 2006.

Ranch fed 1.88 gallons per day the week before June banding.

Summary:

With low catches caused by the weather, we can only guess as to what is happening and likely will have to wait until our last banding session at the end of June to make any conclusions on production in 2008.

Evidence of nesting females were considerably lower than past years, but percent young higher than normal. Adult males appeared to already be leaving for the year. We did notice a few adult males and one adult females already going through body molt indicating the breeding season for these birds was done and they were getting ready for migration. Some individual hummingbirds molt before migrating south while others will wait until they get to the winter grounds.

While there might have been other factors affecting catch rate, our story will be that the weather caused the low catch.

SONGBIRDS

We spent more time catching songbirds this trip because of low numbers of hummers being brought to the banding tables.

We banded 23 songbirds at the Wiedenfeld Ranch and 121 at the Matter Ranch. Young birds made up a high percentage of the catch indicating nesting was going well for them.

Of particular interest were the 23 Purple Martins we banded at the Matter Ranch. These birds were individually banded with color bands that are readable with spotting scopes. This allows us to identify the birds without having to capture them again and should make it easier for us to learn more about the martins. This martin banding is part of a larger study sponsored by the Purple Martin Conservation Association where attempts are made to band 2,000 Purple Martins per year in Texas with the same protocol.

We spent a good part of Sunday morning watching the young martins in the picture above that left the nest early being fed by the parents.

There is obviously much more to these trips than just the banding. We are participating with some very wildlife conscious landowners that treat their guests very well with their time, food and facilities.

We used 2 Russell Traps (mist-net tent) at the Burditt Ranch and caught 354 BCHU.  They are feeding 4 gallons of sugar water per day with a large bee population consuming an unknown portion of the food.  We estimated the population at this site to be 2500 based on the ratio of recaptures to new birds.

We used 1 Russell Trap, 1 Hall Trap (drop trap), and 2 passive 6-meter mist-nets at Matter Ranch and caught 137 hummers and 64 songbirds.  They are providing 1 gallon of sugar water per day and we estimate they are feeding about 800 hummingbirds.

We used 2 Russells and 1 Hall trap at the Wiedenfeld Ranch and caught 333 hummers while they were feeding 2 gallons of sugar water per day.  We estimate they are feeding about 1350 Black-chins.

Many females (40%) had worn tail tips from feeding young or eggs visible within their bodies.  Seven young hummers were caught which is just the beginning of this year’s crop of hummers.  Ruby-throats were passing through in small numbers.

We caught a hummingbird wearing somebody else’s band at the Burditt Ranch and we are checking to determine its history.  We also caught one of Sue Wiedenfeld’s birds taking advantage of the hummer resources on the Matter Ranch which is about 7 miles across the hills.

SPECIES                                                BURDITT              MATTER              WIEDENFELD

BCHU male                                            190                          82                            149

BCHU female                                        164                          54                            183

Ruby-throat                                          0                              1                              1

Golden-fronted Woodpecker                 0                              1                              0

Ladder-backed Woodpecker                 0                              1                              0

B-c Titmouse                                       0                              4                              0

Chipping Sparrow                                0                              3                              0

Field Sparrow                                      0                              5                              0

Lark Sparrow                                      0                              2                              0

N. Cardinal                                          0                              8                              0

Painted Bunting                                  0                              9                              0

House Finch                                       0                              15                            0

Lesser Goldfinch                                0                              20                            0
 
 
Brent Ortego
near Raisin, TX

Our team of banders will be visiting cooperating landowners with mega feeding stations during the breeding season again this year. We will be visiting our good friends Bob & Sudie Burditt near Leakey in Real County, Annie & Corky Matter and Egon & Sue Widenfeld near Comfort in Kendall County once each month. We will also be visiting Dan and Cathy Brown’s Hummer House in Tom Green County during June. Our main focus will be continuing research on Black-chinned Hummingbird site fidelity and breeding success. We will also be banding songbirds at these sites and at other conservation areas.

Our first trip was made by Brent & Sue Ortego from 12-13 April 2008. Temperature ranged from 40-75 during each day with 15-25 mph north winds. We conducted 4-hour banding sessions at each ranch which is what is usually done each year. We used 2 modified Russell Traps at Burditt Ranch, 1 modified Russell & 1 Hall Trap and 2 6-meter nets at Matter Ranch, and 2 modified Russell & 1 Hall Trap, and 1 6-meter net at Widenfeld Ranch.

We caught:

BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS

Artied and Hanna Richard originally banded at these ranches from 2000 - 2002 and we are still recapturing some of the birds they originally banded. Our research started in 2004.

One exciting band return during this trip was a female originally banded at Matter Ranch in 2006, recaptured there in 2007 and recaptured this year at Burditt Ranch which is about 50 miles SW of Comfort. We will be looking for this female to determine if she stayed at Burditt or continued her migration to Matter.

Burditt Ranch

We banded 99 males and recaptured 25 from previous years, and banded 50 females and recaptured 27 females during the morning. Female return rates are consistently higher than males and this ranch is feeding almost 2 gallons of sugar water per day.

Matter Ranch

We banded 54 males and recaptured 17, and banded 29 females and recaptured 16 in the afternoon. This ranch is feeding about ½ gallon per day.

Wiedenfeld Ranch

We banded 49 males and recaptured 22, and banded 31 females and recaptured 34 in the morning. This ranch is feeding about ½ gallon per day.

RECAPTURES

About the same number of birds are banded each year and number recaptured gives us an indication of survival and site fidelity at each of the ranches. Survival of Black-chins by studies like this one at mega feeding stations are showing that small hummingbirds survive much longer than previously believed. Banding results from this first trip of the season was very similar to 2007. There is a noticeable reduction in recaptures at every ranch during the 2^nd year following banding which is either mortality or dispersal related.

We again would like to thank our Ranch Host for their providing food and lodging during our trip, their management of our hummingbird resources and their special friendship.

The 2007-2008 winter season finished with the lowest number of captured hummingbirds since the winter of 2000-2001 (Land of Ortego/Zalk Winter Hummingbirds/); a year when we only maintained 50 feeders. Today, we manage 75 hummingbird feeders during winter and consistently net 9 times during each winter to capture hummers and other wintering birds. Thanks are extended to Susan Heath, Sue Ortego, Bron Rorex and Suzie Ross who assisted with banding.

Buff-bellied Hummingbirds continued to be the most abundant species at the banding station with 51 individuals captured which is close to normal levels. Rufous was the 2^nd most abundant with 19 which is about the normal number for a bad winter and about ½ of what is expected during good winters. There were 6 Black-chins which is well below average, 5 Ruby-throats which is below average, and 4 Allen’s & Broad-tails which is what is expected.

Buff-bellies had 18 new birds for the yard and 33 returning veterans. Eight were originally banded during 2006, 12 from 2005, 5 from 2004, 3 from 2003 and 5 from 2002 or earlier. Our most frequently captured Buff-bellied (band # R57800) continued on his habit of being captured by visiting the banding table 7 of the 9 netting sessions. Y44101 who is the “Old Man” (11 years old) of the yard during winter made an appearance in September and October, but was not captured since. The banding station appears to be saturated with Buff-bellies during winter.

Rufous was the 2^nd most abundant with 11 new birds and 8 veterans. This is the 4^th most we have had during winter and is well below expected numbers, but not part of an apparent long term decline for this site. Two veterans were from 2006, 3 from 2005, 2 from 2004 and 1 from 2003.

Only 6 Black-chins were captured and this is well below expected numbers. This is the 2^nd winter in a row of below average numbers for this species. Only 1 bird was new for the yard, and 5 were veterans; 1 from 2006, 3 from 2005 and 1 from 2002. Our team bands significant numbers of Black-chins in the Texas Hill Country during summer and there is no apparent lack of reproduction from this population. The only foreign Black-chinned recapture we have during winter on the Texas Coast is from a population in the Rocky Mountains and we wonder if this is the source for our winter birds. One bander, Susan Wethington, noted below average reproduction for western Black-chins this summer.

Five new Ruby-throats were banded this winter. We have never had a returning winter Ruby-throat at this site. In general, there was a more westward migration of Ruby-throats this fall and the migration at the Land of OZ finished earlier than expected. A Ruby-throat for only the 2^nd time was known to survive the winter here.

We caught 5 Allen’s with one being a veteran from last year. This is the expected number for this species.

We caught 4 Broad-tails with two originally banded in 2006 and one in 2005. This is twice the number nearly captured at this site.

We did not capture any Calliope or Anna’s Hummingbirds this winter which was very disappointing. A few Anna’s were reported along the Coast, but Calliope’s were extremely rare this winter.

The banding station continues to be a very significant site for wintering hummingbirds in the eastern United States. Data on returning species provide information on their life history.

So, why did we have lower numbers? The winter had about the same number of freezing days as in past years, but was generally warmer. We maintained 75 feeders as in the past, and the habitat did not significantly change in our area. We do not believe weather was a factor. Our best guess is that the populations supporting our winter grounds had poor reproduction last summer. Our returning veteran numbers are about the same as past years. Further banding and research may reveal the answer.

Winter banding data since we started maintaining at least 70 feeders occurs below. First Number = total individuals captured; Second Number = total returning veterans.

BIRDS BANDED ON PERMITS OF ROSS DAWKINS, TERRY MAXWELL & BRENT ORTEGO

1974 through 2007

Order follows AOU Check-List, 7^th ed., 1998, as supplemented:

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BUFH R53318 and the gang of 30

Many of you know our team of banders manages the Land of Ortego - Zalk banding station near Raisin, Victoria County, TX.

Nancy Newfield captured a Buff-bellied Hummingbird (band # R53318) last week (2/14/07) in New Orleans, LA, that I originally banded on 19 May of 2002. This provided me an opportunity to re-visit the day of banding and check on what happened to the birds encountered on that day.

First, we run a banding station and band all birds captured with mist-nets; not just hummers. 19 May 2002 was an extraordinary day.

15 species, 76 newly banded and 28 recaptured.

Buff-bellied Hummingbirds were especially abundant this day as they stage at the Land of OZ banding station feeding on many hummingbird feeders while waiting for the Turk’s-caps to bloom in the area so they can disperse throughout their breeding grounds.

The “Gang of 30″ Buff-bellied caught on this day had an interesting history. Buff-bellies can typically be described as using the banding station in 4 primary styles: 1 = winter resident, 2 = seasonal migrant, 3 = summer resident, 4 = transient [The bird is presumed to be just a transient if we only caught it once]. Each BUFH can be within either of these 4 categories during May.

Of the 30 BUFHs, 9 were originally captured prior to 2002. Each of these birds had been captured at the Land of OZ from 3 to 29 times during their history with us. They visited us from 1 to 5 years. 8 were males and 5 of these were winter residents and 3 spring & fall migrants. The lone historic female was a spring and fall migrant. Within this group of returning males was a very special spring and fall migrant male that traveled to Lafayette each winter and spent the winter with Dave Patton who bands hummingbirds in Louisiana. He hosted this bird for two winters and I caught it before and after it traveled to Louisiana each winter. We lost tract of the bird for one year when the habitat of its winter home was modified. It came back to Raisin for another spring and fall after the one year of absence.

Of the 21 BUFHs that were originally caught during the spring of 2002:

Eight (transients?) were only observed during the 1st day of capture and these were all males. This is the category of the bird Nancy Newfield captured in New Orleans last week. It was only handed once at Raisin. The rest of the hummers were caught multiple times. Two of the 4 females banded multiple times were spring and fall migrants, 1 was a summer resident and 1 was a winter resident. Five of the males ended up being spring and fall migrants, 1 summered, and 1 wintered with us for 5 seasons and was captured 31 times.

This “Gang of 30″ has quite a resume and the information we gather through banding helps us learn more about the dynamics of the life history of the species in which we study. Its pretty spectacular that two of the birds we hosted on that day were later caught in Lousiana by other banders.

Brent Ortego

CAPE MAY, NJ RAPTOR BANDING - 2007

Robert & Kay Lookingbill

In 2005, we were invited by William (Bill) S. Clark to participate in the Cape May Raptor Banding Project. Each fall since 1967, volunteers work at established stations (or blinds), with fixed traps, to catch and band raptors in Cape May Point, NJ. Our first participation in the project was October, 2005, when we spent two weeks trapping raptors. We spent the first week with Bill, learning how to operate the various traps, and learning the process and procedures required by the project protocol. The second week we were assigned our own blind, and trapped raptors on our own. During that week, we trapped and banded 69 raptors of 5 species. The number and variety of raptors trapped each week is dependent on weather conditions (west winds are most favorable), blind assignment (location and habitat varies with each), and the migration timing for each species, as well as the skill of the blind operators.

We returned in October, 2006, for one week of raptor banding, during which time we trapped and banded 76 raptors, of 4 different species.

We returned once again in October, 2007 for two weeks. We were assigned to work in the Pond Creek (PC) blind during the week of Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2007, and the Mag Site (MS) blind during the week of Oct. 7 - Oct. 13, 2007. We banded 172 raptors of 7 different species.

A summary of the raptors caught during each of these weeks in 2007 is shown in Table 1. Abbreviations used in this document are as follows: SSHA (Sharp-Shinned Hawk), COHA (Cooper’s Hawk), RTHA (Red-Tailed Hawk), AMKE (American Kestrel) , MERL (Merlin), PEFA (Peregrine Falcon), NOHA (Northern Harrier).

Table 1 - Raptors Banded at Cape May Point, NJ, in 2007

One of the highlights of the banding experience in 2007 was catching our first Peregrine Falcon. The speed and aerobatics of these birds is truly awesome to watch. There were days when as many as 5 PEFA were swooping on our lures simultaneously, literally feet away from where we were seated. We were able to catch and band 18 PEFA during the two weeks were there. All of them were juvenile (HY) birds. A photo is shown in Fig. 1.

Another highlight was that we were able to trap and band 22 NOHA, including 10 in a single day. All of these birds were banded during the second week, where the blind overlooks a large marsh area. A photo of a NOHA is shown in Fig. 2.

We’ve also included a few other photos of some of the raptors we banded. We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we did catching the birds.

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The Texas Bird Banding Team bands birds for research and educational purposes in cooperation with state and private conservation organizations, and landowners which include Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, the Purple Martin Conservation Association, Dan & Cathy Brown’s HUMMER HOUSE, and the Land of Ortego - Zalk . Most bird banding has occurred under federal and state permits held by Dr. Ross Dawkins and Dr. Terry Maxwell from Angelo State University in Texas. Active banders within the Team currently are Shawn Ashbaugh, John Barrow, Susan Beree, Charlie Brower, Chet Couvillon, Ross, Debra & Paul Dawkins, Charles Floyd, Jerry and Graham Gips, Brad Lirette, Robert & Kay Lookingbill, Brent Ortego, Warren Pruess, Jim Renfro, Jr., Bron Rorex, Suzie Ross, Lyndon Schatz, Delbert Tarter, David Tarver, Clay White, Gail Williams and Craig Zalk.

A list of the birds banded by the team is provided below.

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The Texas Ornithological Society held its fall meeting in SE Texas and birders were treated to a bird banding demonstration at Sabine Woods. About 2 dozen birders were shown 33 species and 160 individuals in the hand.

James, Austin and Christian Walker assisted Brent Ortego in catching and banding birds during 29-30 September 2007. The list of banded birds is presented below and photos of some of the birds can be found at http://www.ortegobirds.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=7

SSHA 2

RTHU 69

EAWP 2

YBFL 6

TRFL 1

ACFL 1

LEFL 3

GCFL 1

WEV1 15

REVI 1

BLJA 1

HOWR 1

BGGN 3

SWTH 1

WOTH 1

GRCA 5

BWWA 1

NOPA 1

NAWA 1

TEWA 1

CSWA 1

MAWA 2

AMRE 7

BAWW 2

OVEN 2

NOWA 1

COYE 12

HOWA 1

WIWA 8

CAWA 1

YBCH 4

NOCA 5

PABU 1

TOTAL 164

SPECIES 33

Banding is a research tool used to determine distribution, longevity, site fidelity, survivorship and mortality of individuals and populations of birds. This tool is used frequently by members of our team and avian researchers throughout the world. Additional information about national banding programs can be found at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/. Listed below are birds that were banded or recovered by The Texas Banding Team and found or banded elsewhere.

If you find a bird with a band, it can be reported at http://www.reportband.gov/ or 1-800-327-2263.

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