By Jennifer Fernandes

 

PEACE REGION - Ever wondered what it might be like to catch the elusive hummingbird?

 

The smallest of birds – most species measure 7.5 cm to 13 cm – the hummingbird can hover in mid-air rapidly beating their wings 12 to 90 times per second, fly backwards and forwards at speeds of up to 54 km per hour.

 

Master bird bander Doreen Cubie from Awendaw, South Carolina, is coming to the Peace country to catch and release hummingbirds for a research project that will begin this summer.

 

“To catch hummingbirds, I use a specially-made cage with a sliding door,” Cubie said. “A sugar-water feeder already being used by the hummingbird is placed inside the trap. When the bird enters the trap to feed, I drop the door and carefully remove the bird. In addition to banding the hummingbirds, I take measurements, look at the overall health and molt of the bird, and weigh it.”

 

“I primarily study a species of hummingbird called the ruby-throated hummingbird, which is common throughout the eastern US and Canada. In Canada, the ruby-throated also breeds far to the west, at least as far as the foothills of the Rockies. No one really knows how far west and how far north they breed, however, and that’s one of the reasons I’ll be banding this July in northeastern B.C. We don’t know how abundant the ruby-throated hummingbirds are in the Peace region, but by banding as many birds as we can, we can get an idea, and we can also determine if young hummingbirds are present, which would mean the birds are breeding and nesting in the area. I’m also interested in banding other kinds besides ruby-throated.”

 

Cubie added the whole process only takes a couple of minutes, and the birds are very calm while being handled. They will often drink from the sugar-water feeder while she is holding them and they quickly return to the feeders in the yard after they are released.

The bands placed on hummingbirds are extremely light and do not interfere with the birds in any way. Each band has a letter and five numbers on it, a unique combination that will never be used again. Banding gives the bird an identity, and gives researchers an opportunity to track its movements, find out how long it lives, and determine whether it returns to the same yard in subsequent seasons.

 

Cubie has been a licensed hummingbird bander in the United States since 2005 and received her permit to band hummingbirds in Canada in 2010.

 

With this project she hopes to learn more about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the northern end of their range. Last summer she banded 153 hummingbirds in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

 

Cubie is looking for places to band hummingbirds in the Dawson Creek, Taylor, and Fort St. John areas, but is interested in any place hummingbirds frequent throughout the Northeast region.

 

Unlike most bird banders, people who work with hummingbirds do most of their banding at people’s homes. Cubie is especially looking for homes with two or more sugar-water feeders where hummingbirds have been fed for several years.

 

“I first became fascinated with hummingbirds because of their small size (weigh less than a nickel), their incredible flying ability and also probably because of their fearlessness - they have a lot of personality,” Cubie said.

 

If you are interested in participating in the research project, Cubie can be reached by email: doreencubie@tds.net or by phone 843-928-3702 (home) and 843-991-1054 (cell).

 

Additional information on Cubie’s hummingbird research is available online at: www.doreencubie.com/hummingbirdresearch.html and www.hummingbirdresearch.net.