Clarksville, TN – The Wade Bourne Nature Center was recently the site of some serious bird watching as the Southeastern Avian Research Group and the Warioto Audubon Society sponsored a day of hummingbird trapping and banding with master bander Cyndi Routledge.
“My wife Cyndi is one of the few master banders in the United States. I’m just here to help,” Steve Routledge said. “What we do is remove the feeders that have been here, and hopefully, the hummingbirds will come to the feeders that we’ve set up inside these traps. Once they’re in, we use a remote control to close the door, we put them in a soft mesh bag and take them to Cyndi where she measures and weighs them, checks for sex, and age, puts a band on them and lets people feel their heartbeat.”
Routledge says they weigh about 3 grams, about the weight of a nickel. One primary variety is found in this area. “Most in the East and a little West of the Mississippi are Ruby-throated hummingbirds,” Routledge said. “Wintertime we get some of the western hummingbirds that winter here, and a few other varieties.
“Our birds from Tennessee generally winter in Mexico and Central America as far as northern Panama. I think they can travel as fast as 40 mph. They come back north in the spring to breed. They take a meandering route south, but they come back directly.”
Hundreds came out to try their hand at bird watching, arts and crafts and other activities throughout the day.
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