CTT Radio tagging update…
On June 12th we announced deployment of 15 BluMorpho Cellular Tracking Technology radio tags on ruby-throated hummingbirds on June 11th at 3 locations; a first for Tennessee! Since then, our hosts have reported both daily ‘pings’ and visual sightings of our tagged hummers at their feeders. We have also visited each location with our SideKick antenna allowing us to search a bit further away from the feeders to try and locate our tagged birds.
We had the opportunity to do some regular banding at all 3 locations since then and we were able to track the movement of one of our males as he moved around his territory at Woodlands Nature Center and at The South Welcome Station of LBL we were able to capture one of our CTT tagged females.
I’m happy to report the female we captured is in fine condition and weight with evidence of nesting. The tag is still firmly in place and did not appear to hinder her movement or her ability to eat, chase off the competition at the feeders, or zip off into the canopy nearby.
We will continue to monitor these 15 ground-breaking hummingbirds daily and update you on our findings once we analyze the data.
THANKS to all who supported this effort as we continue to work together to learn all we can about these fascinating little birds!
All bird banding is conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as additional state and local permits and permissions.
