Photos courtesy of Steve Matherly.

On the weekend of July 14, Steve Matherly, who is our NARBA compiler, was enjoying a quiet weekend with relatives at the Ramsey Canyon Inn in southeast Arizona. Because of his familiarity with the NARBA rare birds, Steve knew that a Berylline Hummingbird was frequenting the feeders there, so he got up early to photograph birds coming to the feeders at the inn. Not long after Steve set up his camera, the Berylline Hummingbird showed up cooperatively at the feeder outside the breakfast room. Firing away with his Nikon, Steve was totally unprepared for the surprise awaiting him when he reviewed the photos on his camera. "This bird is banded!" Sure enough, the photos that he had taken revealed a tiny metal band on the hummingbird's right leg. Even though the band is only 1/5 of the thickness of the perch on the hummingbird feeder, amazingly, by zooming in on the photo, the final four digits of the six digit band number were revealed! Up to that point, no one had even reported that the bird was banded.

Later that day, Steve shared this information with the hummingbird banding team at The Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve, which is adjacent to the inn. With the final four digits of the band number "in hand", the banding team was able to determine that the bird was banded at the Ramsey Canyon Preserve on June 21, 2006 as an adult, sex unknown. This marked a successful banding "return" without even having to handle the bird!

If you go to see this bird, please stand on road as the B&B is private property. The bird frequents the feeder just outside the window of the breakfast room. For non-guests, this feeder can best be viewed by walking downhill from the inn to the first power pole. You will then be able to look back up toward the inn and easily view the feeder in the window of the breakfast room.

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