2022 marks the 21st year of our Hummingbird Migration Research Project at Warner Park Nature Center. We held 10 banding sessions this season, including 3 Saturday sessions, for a total of 197.25 trap hours, and ultimately engaged a total of 837 park visitors!
Season Recap
We captured 118 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this season. Of those:
- 107 birds were new captures
- 11 birds were recaptures, ten of which were captured by us earlier in the season. One recapture on 18 August 2022 was an adult female that we first banded as an adult on 17 August 2021!
- 84 hatch-year birds (23 female and 61 males) and 34 adult birds (22 female and 12 males)
Typical weights are 3.0 grams for males and 3.5 grams for females. The heaviest this season was a recaptured adult female at 5.20g during our last banding session. When we captured her the week prior, she was 3.46g!
The banding session with the most captures was on 20 September, our last banding session of the season. Within 5 days, few birds were observed at the nature center as they move south for the winter. The last observed hummingbird at the nature center was on 05 October 2022.
The Hummingbird Celebration day was a huge success with 650 visitors. A big thank you to Amy and Carl Wilms and Dr. Lina Rifai for their fabulous presentation on Ruby-throated Hummingbirds; Katie Sue from the Bellevue Public Library, John from the Wood Thrush Shop, Kidsville, Intersession Music, the Habitat Connection, Nathan Collie with his new book Moments with Birds, and the Davidson County master gardeners for the education and engagement tables. And to the many volunteers and staff who made it all possible.
A Team Effort
A huge thank you to our dedicated team of 13 volunteers and staff for this project: Leah LaRocco, Matt Jenkins, John Kell, Virginia P’Pool, Mary Glenn Williamson, Kim Bailey, Kathy Shaw, Thomas Copeland, Tahira Moyhuddin, Rachael Payton, Teresa Marchetti, Kelly Wright, Heather Gallagher, Sandy Bivens, Laura Cook, Vera Roberts
This research project could not be possible with out the pain-staking and long process of ensuring clean and full feeders. A huge thank you to Josh Southward, Toni Rodgers, Debbie Bright, Shannon Alpert, Ann Acheson for the sparking clean and full feeders and ant traps.
The BIRD Program is funded by Friends of Warner Parks, in collaboration with Warner Park Nature Center and Nashville Metro Parks and Recreation. This year marks the 40th year of the WPNC Bird Banding Station thanks to our dedicated volunteers, staff, and partners! Please support our legacy bird research and public engagement programs with a donation, becoming a member, and volunteering with Warner Parks. #ProtectTheBirds #ProtectWarnerParks.
