|
Hummingbird Banding!
In August 2007, we conducted a demonstration at Rockhound State
Park southeast of Deming. The event was sponsored by the Friends of
Rockhound State Park and organized by MaryKay and Jim Brady. The park
is at an elevation of about 4,700 feet and is located at 32° 11.148' N
Lat. and 107° 36.833' W Long. The predominant vegetation is creosote
bush and sage, but the Friends have constructed a small park next to
the Visitor Center and planted native vegetation attractive to
hummingbirds. A nearby park, Spring Canyon, has more juniper
vegetation and a higher elevation and may prove to be a better
monitoring location.
To reach Rockhound State Park, exit I-10 at either end of Deming
and drive the business loop (Pine Street) to the middle of town
watching for signs to the State Parks and Route 11 to Columbus. Turn
south and follow Rt. 11 south out of town. You will see a sign
"Rockhound State Park 10 miles." Turn left on Rockhound Road and
follow the signs to the park.
Source:
Birchside Studios |
|
Rockhound State Park Hummingbird Festival
The Rockhound State Park Hummingbird Festival was scheduled from 7
AM to 10AM on Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19, 2007 at the
visitor center. We set up trap hangers two weeks earlier and arrived
on Friday evening to set up the traps over two of the feeders in the
native plant garden. In the morning, we took down the remaining three
feeders and set the traps to catch hummingbirds about 6:50. Jim
Hazelton manned one trap and Ellen with help of other volunteers,
manned the second trap. We trapped from 0700 to 0930 on Saturday and
from 0700 to 0915 on Sunday. We stopped trapping as all the birds in
the garden area had left for other areas. There were 75 visitors on
Saturday and 26 on Sunday, all interested in the success of a
hummingbird program at Rockhound.
We caught and processed 21 hummingbirds in the two mornings of
trapping as follows: Black-chinned Hummingbird - 5, Broad-tailed
Hummingbird - 5, Calliope Hummingbird - 3, and Rufous Hummingbird - 8.
All but four of the birds had visible amounts of body fat indicating
that they were in migratory condition. It is likely that only
Black-chinneds nest in the park area and the other species are all
migrants from farther north. The age sex ratio for each species was:
Black-chinned adult male = 3, adult female = 0, juvenile male = 1,
juvenile female = 1. Broad-tailed adult male = 1, adult female = 1,
juvenile male = 1, juvenile female = 2. Calliope adult male = 0, adult
female = 0, juvenile male = 1, juvenile female = 2. Rufous adult male
= 1, adult female = 1, juvenile male = 5, juvenile female 1.
Thanks to Jim Hazelton for trapping both days, and to Diane
Williams and Nancy Grinnell for recording, one on each day. We also
appreciate the hospitality of the Friends of Rockhound State Park for
making our stay there enjoyable, especially Jim and MaryKay Brady and
Sally Allen who took photographs and gave publicity to the event.
Source:
Birchside Studios |
