(Editor's note: Arizona News Service features the work of University of Arizona journalism students.)
By Candace Begody
ArizonaNewsService.com
For the last decade, wildlife along the San Pedro River has endured either the extreme hot or extreme cold, but recently researchers are seeing what they haven't seen in years – a happy medium.
During a hummingbird banding session April 21 – where hummingbirds were banded with unique, numbered metal sheets – volunteers and staff of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO) captured, weighed and banded 16 hummingbirds – the highest number of birds so far this banding season.
"We were very fortunate to have caught as many hummingbirds as we did," said Sheri Williamson, director of the SABO. "They are very curious but suspicious, intelligent, observant and very alert. They will figure out that there's something funny going on and whether they enter the trap or not depends on how brave they are.
During each banding session, food is used to lure the tiny creatures into a radio-controlled bonnet trap. The net is dropped over them as they feed, where they are then forced into a bag and taken to Williamson for measurements — the length of the bird's bill, wings and tail, how much fat is on the bird, its breeding condition and anything else unusual.
The birds are weighed by wrapping them in a net and suspending them from a spring scale.
Since SABO's inception in 1996, volunteers have worked to capture the birds as part of a long-term study into the health of the San Pedro River and that would help people better understand the lives and habits of the birds.
"We had seen so many bad days that we wondered what the good days looked like," Williamson said. "But now that we have a balance of good days and bad days, we have enough data for comparison."
The banding session will provide useful information for the ongoing effort, dubbed the San Pedro Hummingbird Migration Project, led by Williamson, also a co-founder of SABO.
Hummingbirds are important because they are primary pollinators for many species of flowers and if they are not pollinating, it can have negative ripple effects on the ecosystem, according to Williamson.
"People think of themselves as separate from nature," Williamson said, "but the health of our ecosystem depends on our plants – its health and prosperity, which then has an effect on us as humans."
Williamson said she hopes the study will help officials make "intelligent and forward-thinking decisions for the animals and people."
With the San Pedro being the major corridor for birds and wildlife passing through the area during the winter and summer seasons, volunteers have worked to maintain the only free-flowing river in Southern Arizona.
Williamson said having recaptured 11 of the 16 hummingbirds during a two-hour session recently is proof that the tiny creatures are enjoying what the river has to offer.
"This really speaks to the health of the environment," said Williamson of those hummingbirds recaptured. "When they are heading north or south, they need places to stop and rest. The way the San Pedro is maintained, they seem to have had enough food and shelter through here."
Banding sessions began in March and only one to two birds on average were captured per session. The more recent numbers are considered good signs of progress.
"In recent years," Williamson said, "the weather conditions have been very stressful for the birds. There's been very poor reproduction, especially in the young birds, and so few resources to raise families on.
"We're still in drought but it's good to see a spring season when the hummingbirds are finding natural food and females are making nests and laying their eggs," she added.
Because this event is open to the public and the project is run primarily on grants and donations, individuals – like Vicki Murray of Steele, N.D. – are able to adopt the birds for up to $100 through the "Adopt A Hummingbird Program."
For people like Murray, adoption can be an emotional process.
"I named him 'Brad Jay' after a friend who died of cancer," said a teary Murray, who adopted a black-chinned hummingbird. "I held the little guy in my hand and could feel his little heart beating so fast."
Those who adopt and name the bird receive a certificate with a color photo of their bird, the bird's band number, and a brief biography. Sponsors are updated when the bird is encountered again.
For more information about the next banding session, visit sabo.org. Sessions are free and open to the public.
(Another version of this story appeared in The Tombstone Epitaph.)
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