Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 10:38:00 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: JAMES FELLEY Subject: SI Hummers banded and ID'ed Comments: cc: laura.c-ctr.farron@faa.gov Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Laura Farron, who first saw the Ripley Garden Black-chinned Hummingbird, posted the following to VA-birds: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Great news, birders! Mary Gustafson successfully banded both hummingbirds that have been frequenting the Ripley Garden in SW D.C. (between the Hirshorn and Arts & Industries Building). Both are first-year females: one Black-chinned, and one Rufous. A small group of cold but hardy birders (plus the occasional curious onlooker) were privileged to watch both bandings. Mary set up the capture box around 7:00 a.m. At first, the Rufous appeared almost immediately, but couldn't find the door of the cage to reach the feeder. After several attempts, the Rufous disappeared, and for some time afterward, no hummingbirds were seen. Then the Black-chinned appeared: the capture cage had been rotated by this point, and it had no trouble finding the entrance. As the first reporter of the Black-chinned, Mary allowed me to hold it in my palm when it was time to be released. It stayed on my hand for perhaps a minute before it zipped off with a squeak. Janet Draper, the horticulturist whose garden has attracted the hummers, held the Rufous for release. It was a really neat experience, almost certainly once-in-a-lifetime! As Mary worked with each bird, the "paparazzi" snapped numerous pictures, so some photos should be available soon for all to enjoy. I can hardly imagine a more exciting way to start a morning! Sure makes it easier to drag oneself out of bed... Laura Farron ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ That says it all, and I was able to see a lot of this as I popped in and out of the A&I Building like some sort of Jack-in-the-box. Jim Jim Felley Smithsonian Institution felleyj@si.edu ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================