Hummingbird Banding at

  Fort Huachuca, Arizona

   Hummingbird Monitoring Network
The next banding date is Sunday, June 28, 2009. To volunteer, see instructions below.
Volunteers needed!
Get close-up views of hummingbirds while assisting in a regional biodiversity study of hummingbirds in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. 2009 is the eighth year of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network's multi-year investigation of the distribution, migration, and diversity of hummingbirds. Information collected during the study will be used to assist in the preservation and protection of hummingbirds. We always need trapping and recording assistance at the Fort Huachuca monitoring station. If you would like to sign up to help out on one of the dates listed below, send me an e-mail - ldavis@theriver.com -  and I will get back with you. The 2009 schedule is below. You should have an interesting time and learn a bit more about hummingbirds, but you must realize that 1. This is a scientific research program with over 30 associated sites in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, California, British Columbia, and Mexico (see Hummingbird Monitoring Network below). 2. The two positions for volunteers are: a) Recorder - You must be able to write clearly and transcribe the data spoken to you accurately despite the usual conversation of visitors around you, and b) Trapper - You must have good eye-hand coordination to know when to drop the trap curtain and have the manual dexterity to remove the bird from the trap and place it in a cloth mesh bag without harming it or allowing it to escape. 3. On busy days, we also need a Feeder whose job is to feed each bird and release it after it has been processed. You will be trained briefly at the beginning of the session. The time to report to the site and the duration of the trapping period follow the dates in the schedule.

What species will you see?

Species observed at the Fort Huachuca site have included primarily Anna's and Black-chinned, along with smaller numbers of Rufous, Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Broad-tailed, Magnificent, Lucifer, Blue-throated, Allen's, Calliope, and Costa's hummingbirds. If you are not familiar with hummingbird identification now, this is an opportunity to learn how to identify these species.
Note: 

Fort Huachuca is an active military installation and specific entrance requirements are enforced. US citizens may drive on the post after getting logged in as visitors. To get logged in as a visitor, drive to the Main Gate of Ft. Huachuca in the right lane, approach the gate guards, and inform the guard that you're a visitor. You will be directed to pull over to the right or turn right into an adjacent parking lot and immediately right again toward a bus stop shelter in the nearest corner of that lot. Stop there and provide the person on duty this required documentation: valid driver's license, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration or car rental agreement. The driver and all passengers 18 and older must have a valid photo ID issued from a Federal or State governmental agency (e.g., Dept. of Motor Vehicles) to show as they pass through the checkpoint.

 
When?

Every other Sunday morning at Fort Huachuca for 5.5 hours beginning at dawn. Depending on sunrise, the meeting time will be between 4:45 to 6:00 a.m. Banding will begin at sunrise and end 5 hours later. Banding dates and volunteer needs are listed below. The October 18 date is tentative depending on weather conditions. If you are meeting me at the Main Gate, be sure to get there 5-10 minutes early to get your vehicle pass. We'll leave promptly at the appointed time. Or, you could meet me at the Banding Station. See below for driving directions.

 
Dates (Sundays) Main Gate Meeting Time Banding Station Meeting Time Volunteers
March 22, 2009 0550 0600 Christi M, Carla R
April 5, 2009 0535 0545 Karen J, Galayna W, Carla R, Allison N, Christi M
April 19, 2009 0520 0530 Roger T, Laura C, Christi M
May 3, 2009 0450 0500 Carla R, Penelope, Laura C
May 17, 2009 0440 0450 Alexander W, Steven W, Christi M
May 31, 2009 0435 0445 Christi M, Laura C
June 14, 2009 0435 0445 Penelope R, Carla R
June 28, 2009 0435 0445 Nan S, Pat H, Ruanda D
July 12, 2009 0450 0500 Carla R,Penelope R, Alex S
July 26, 2009 0450 0500 Carla R plus 2 volunteers needed
August 9, 2009 0505 0515 Carla R plus 3 volunteers needed
August 23, 2009 0520 0530 Nan S, Pat H, Carla R plus 1 volunteer needed
September 6, 2009 0520 0530 Carla R plus 3 volunteers needed
September 20, 2009 0535 0545 Nan S, Pat H, Carla R plus 1 volunteer needed
October 4, 2009 0550 0600 Carla R plus 3 volunteers needed
October 18, 2009 0605 0615 Carla R plus 2 volunteers needed
What to bring? Water, snacks, hat, sunscreen, and warm clothes.
Getting there:

Banding at Fort Huachuca takes place outside of the Public Affairs Office, Building 21115, Brayton Hall, across from the gazebo at the upper end of Brown Parade Field (see map). From the intersection of Arizona Highways 90 and 92 in Sierra Vista, drive west on Fry Boulevard about 3 miles to the Fort Huachuca Main Gate. After getting your vehicle pass, if needed, proceed through the Main Gate and continue straight on Winrow Rd. This road splits into 2 lanes each way (and your westbound lanes change their name to Squire Ave). In 2 miles, be in the right hand lane as it merges back into Winrow Rd. once again. Continue on Winrow until you reach the **TRAFFIC CIRCLE approximately 3.3 miles from the Main Gate. You will enter the traffic circle at the 6 o'clock position and exit at the 9 o'clock position on to Smith Ave. Follow Smith Ave. 0.15 mi to a 4-way stop light. Turn left at the light on to Christy Ave. Continue on Christy Ave. for 0.6 miles to Adair Rd on the left. For Sunday morning banding sessions, turn left on Adair, drive up to the second building on the right (the Public Affairs Office) and park parallel to the curb on either side of the street.

 
Other hummingbird banding volunteer opportunities: 

Consult www.birchsidestudios.com for opportunities at Madera Canyon, Arizona with George West and www.HumMonNet.org for other local, regional, and international study sites.
Hummingbird Monitoring Network:

The Fort Huachuca hummingbird banding program is part of a much larger monitoring effort, the Hummingbird Monitoring Network (HMN). The founders of the network are Susan Wethington, an avian ecologist from Patagonia, AZ, Barbara Carlson, hummingbird bander from Riverside, CA, and George West, ornithologist from Green Valley, AZ. In 2008, HMN had 10 banding stations in southeastern Arizona, 7 in southern California, 12 in British Columbia, 2 in Colorado, and 1 in Texas. We also have a feeder watch station in New Mexico and developing sites in Mexico. The goals of this program are to better understand the diversity and abundance of hummingbirds in the southwestern United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico in order to provide information to land managers that will protect habitats required for perpetuation of hummingbird populations.

Hummingbird banders for HMN have been trained and certified and possess federal permits from the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Bird Banding Lab, State and Provincial Departments of Fish and Game, and in some places, from the US Forest Service. Assistants to the bander are trained briefly at the beginning of each banding session.

You can learn more about HMN on its web site: www.HumMonNet.org. There you can learn more about the network program and the results of this year's banding efforts. We hope to add more sites in New Mexico, southwestern Texas, and in the Rocky Mountain states. We have initiated development of several sites in Mexico for monitoring overwintering populations of hummingbirds. We already have an association with banders in Ecuador, where there are more species of hummingbird than anywhere else in the world. A brochure for the network is available to visitors at all of the banding stations.

The HMN is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. If you would like to make a donation to HMN, you may do so by sending a check to Hummingbird Monitoring Network, P.O.Box 115, Patagonia, AZ 85624 or by credit card on the HMN web site. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by federal and state law.