A juvenile male Broad-billed Hummingbird with a shiny new band takes a look around before returning to the wild. Photo by SABO volunteer Lynne Zaninelli.

SABO’s hummingbird banding team has been busy on the San Pedro River! Over the last four banding sessions (two at each site), we’ve caught 32 “new” (unbanded) birds (25 Black-chinneds, 7 Broad-billeds) and recaptured 8 previously banded birds (all Black-chinneds). Captures at Casa de San Pedro Bed & Breakfast (27) have been running significantly ahead of those at our original site at the San Pedro House (13), and young birds (27) greatly outnumber adults (13).

One recent recapture at the San Pedro House is E64396, named “Anna” by her sponsors. She was banded as an adult in April 2008; at a minimum age of 8 years, she’s among the oldest individuals in our study. This was her seventh recapture in total and her fourth this year! Her abdomen was swollen indicating a developing egg; if the nest is successful, the young should fledge in late August.

Another important recapture at the San Pedro House was P44518, a female Black-chinned banded by our team 27 months earlier and almost 10 miles farther south at Casa de San Pedro. She had an egg in development at the time of her original capture but no sign of breeding on her recapture. Since this was her first recapture, it’s hard to say whether she is now part of the population near the San Pedro House or just a post-breeding visitor.

A celebration marking the 20th year of the San Pedro Hummingbird Project is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, September 26 October 3. Stay tuned for details! We’re also counting down to our 6000th hummingbird banded at the San Pedro House. With just 48 new birds to go, we expect to reach 6K before the end of the season.

There are only 18 sessions left in the 2015 banding season, 9 at each site. If you’d like to join us, please check the Calendar of Events for upcoming dates. If you’d like to help us keep the project going, please consider making a donation or “adopting” a banded hummingbird for yourself or as a gift. Thank you for your support!