Bird Watcher News  September 2nd, 2014
More Hummingbird News
Have you heard about the new hummingbird trail at the
State Botanical Gardens 
in Athens? Stroll through the gardens and enjoy hummingbirds feeding on their favorite flowers among twenty marked stops along the trail. There are great photography opportunities here that will be available through
the end of September.

Photo by Melissa DeGolier
We were so excited last week when Melissa DeGolier of Talking Rock, GA contacted us and said she had a banded and color-marked hummingbird visiting her feeders. This is what hummingbird banders hope for, so Karen paid her a visit the next morning and caught this hatching year male Ruby-throat to verify his band number - J98507! From this number, Karen was able to contact the original bander. It turns out that Dwayne Martin banded this bird on August 6, 2014 in Burke County, North Carolina, about 180 miles to the northeast.
Melissa releasing the hummer back into her yard.
Hi, BirdWatchers!

Young male Ruby-throat with one red and one green gorget feather banded at Smith Gilbert Gardens.
We had a terrific turnout for our 4th Hummingbird Banding Event at Smith-Gilbert Gardens on August 23rd. Although the hummer numbers were a little lower than usual, Julia Elliott and Karen Theodorou were able to capture and band a total of nine Ruby-throated Hummingbirds - eight hatching year males and one adult female. The gardens were lovely and Monteen McCord of Hawk Talk brought some of her educational feathered friends - a Great Horned Owl, an Eastern Screech Owl and a Tawny Owl.

We saw some big smiles on kids' (of all ages) faces who got a chance to see hummingbirds up close and learn more about these amazing little creatures. 
These young ladies were pretty excited to see hummingbirds in the hand!

If you missed it don't worry, because we're doing it again at our Buford Bird Watcher Supply this Saturday, September 6th, from 8:30 - 11:00 a.m. The banding tent will be set up in the parking lot beside the store, where Julia will be banding Ruby-throats, along with weighing, measuring, and checking them for overall health. This is a popular event and draws a pretty big crowd. Try to get there in the first hour for the most activity, and if you have kids, they will have a better chance to release a hummer after the process. Bring a chair and stay awhile! We will have some fun crafts for kids, also.

Don't forget to come inside the store and see Monteen's birds of prey. For a $10 donation, you can even get your photo taken with her Tawny Owl, Nigel, on your gloved arm!

Kennesaw * Roswell * Buford * Marietta * Canton


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