TN-Birders, As a bird-watcher and not an ornithologist (all my graduate school training in field zoology was under the tutelage of an ichthyologist), I appreciate all of you who took the time to reply to my post, LOVING SOME BIRDS TO DEATH BY BANDING. There were several replies posted directly to the TN-BIRD list and I received several replies directly to my email account not posted here at the discussion group. Some of you, by the way, have a wicked sense of humor! I am always amazed at how this medium for an exchange of ideas and information can be so educational, timely, and cost efficient! My original premise (that we are running the risk of loving some species of birds to death) seems most evident. None of the replies addressed that primary premise. No one seems to want to address the fact that if a particular species of bird is in short numbers, that perhaps we should leave that species alone in the environment in which we find it. Sure, look at it (but not in such droves as to frighten it away) and admire it and photograph it (but be careful with too many flashguns) -- and if it doesn't present itself when you think it should, be careful in the use of noise (pishing, recordings, banging on the side of the tree, etc) to make it show itself. I have learned in all of this that the recovery rate on the bands placed on birds varies greatly by species: birds that are hunted have the highest return rate (in the range of 20% or so); song-bird bands have very low recovery rates -- from less than 0.2% to about 2%. Overall, the band recovery rate for all species is in the range of 6% to 7%. The one example of the Calliope Hummingbird (in Ohio) killed in the banding process is an isolated event -- but it still proves my point that in some cases the entire known population (100%) of a species in a specific county in a specific state is killed by banding. Birds in plentiful supply can be banded all you wish -- but when you are dealing with "one-of-a-kind" perhaps it is best not to bother the bird for fear of loving it to death. Just because we can do something doesn't mean that we should -- and just because we can report the presence of a "one-of-a-kind" species of birds on our property to a bander with a valid permit to band doesn't mean we should -- and just because a bird-watcher who has a permit to band doesn't mean he or she should! One poster even suggested that since the Calliope was so far from its range that it was probably "lost" and weak anyway -- as if that makes killing it a justifiable act. There is no question that the banding of birds has been of tremendous value in the scientific study of ornithology -- and there is no question that we probably need many more carefully designed and carefully implemented scientific studies that would require banding. But to indiscriminately band birds because they are "lost" or out of their range seems callous and self-serving when the risk to the bird is its very survival. Perhaps we should also question why the United States has the highest concentration of banders in the world. Do we really need so many bird-watchers with a permit to band? Most all species of birds have been included in numerous previous research studies -- to justify banding a "one-of-a-kind" species to just learn where it came from seems an awful risk in light of the fact that that information is readily available to anyone willing to spend the time reading or researching. Just because the study was done a decade ago or for that matter, ten decades ago as banding in the U.S. is now 100 years old, doesn't mean the study is flawed and you should start all over again. I don't have to band a Calliope Hummingbird to know what its normal range is, what its breeding range is, and where it has been sighted previously -- all that information is already available. One study I believe should be done is to investigate why after a year of numerous Eastern U.S. sightings of "stray" hummingbirds far from their normal Western range is there often a year with almost no sightings in the east of the same species? Does all the banding during the plentiful year kill them off? Couldn't we all agree that for a few years we will leave these tiny creatures alone except for visual observations and see if they can establish themselves as a breeding group here in the east? Of course such a study would require a ban on banding during the winter months and then during the breeding season of stray hummers, wouldn't it? I, for one, will not report the presence of any "stray" or "lost" hummers at my feeders (but I will be happy to share with any of you how I kept my hummingbird feeder "juice" warm during below zero degrees here on the Plateau feeding a "lost stray" a few seasons ago). And finally, thanks to all of you who invited me to your banding stations, homes, or sent me your telephone numbers. I know all I need to know about banding, thank you. It is clear that all of you on this discussion group who have banding permits are kind and generous people who love birds. All I ask is that you think twice about banding the "one-of-a-kind" strays -- and I pray that you don't kill out a species of birds in a region by "loving it to death by banding." Regards, Terry Thornton Rinnie, TN (North of Crossville on the Cumberland Plateau) =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================