Another Big Score By Nancy Newfield

[Evelyn Cooper]

This is a report that Nancy Newfield, Hummingbird Expert, sent to LABird Listserv this morning. She gave me permission to post it here. Neat information.

Howdy HummFriends and LABIRDers,

As many of you know, this month marks my 30th anniversary as a hummingbird bander. One of my stated goals when I initiated the winter banding project was to find the sources of some of the hummingbirds that spend their non-breeding season in Louisiana. That goal has been elusive until recently. Just 2 months ago, a female Rufous that was a youngster when I banded her in Metairie, Louisiana, last November was caught in Langley, Washington, by Dan Harville.

Well, there is more good news. A little while ago, Fred Bassett called from Inkom, Idaho, to let me know he had caught a female Black-chinned that I had banded in Houma, Louisiana, in February 2006. She was already an adult when she was first handled so she would not have been hatched any later than 2004, placing her age to be at least 5 years 1 month. The distance from banding site to recapture site is 1502 miles. Oh, what tales she could tell!

As far as I know, this is the first Black-chinned to be banded in the Southeast and then be re-encountered on or near the nesting grounds. Thanks, Fred, for helping me celebrate this occasion!

NLN

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA