It is the goal and hope of HBRC through the Tri-state Hummingbird Study,
and other passerine banding projects, to empower the
public to contribute to the research. This research, in collaboration
with other hummingbird banders, has the potential of creating invaluable
data for birds that reside or pass through the Midwest and the eastern U.S.
The HBRC/Tri-state Hummingbird Study will
focus much of it's efforts towards educating the public to invite
hummingbird banders to band hummingbirds that come to their feeders, learn about hummingbird banding
and research, take steps to
attract hummingbirds throughout the entire year, not just during spring,
summer and fall.
This will provide potentially countless opportunities to
compile much needed data on various hummingbirds and to see, band and
identify other species that may occur in Winter after the Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds have migrated away.
Less than 200,000 hummingbirds have been banded in the
U.S. and Canada since banding hummingbirds began in 1954. This provides
far too little data to help us understand hummingbirds, how they live,
survive, migrate, and behave. Over 1,000,000 songbirds and gamebirds
have been banded annually for decades. Data from these bands have
provided data used to encourage land management, hunting regulations,
knowledge of survivorship of birds, health and causes of death,
productivity and survivorship, to name a few.
Very little study has been completed on hummingbirds. HBRC
will work collaboratively with as many banders and researchers as
possible to facilitate and conduct much needed hummingbird research. Several HBRC
hummingbird projects/studies are
currently under way and others are in proposal or development.
