LOCALadk Magazine

22 Spring 2020 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk pen, they might get to release a bird, which then becomes their bird. They get a certificate with all the bird's informa- tion; if this bird comes back another year, they will be noti- fied that their bird returned to the station. These are marked as student birds in the record books—we do get about seven student bird returns a year. Visiting groups can contact Gor- don Howard at ghoward@aaahawk.com to schedule a visit to the station while we are open. Since the station started operating 44 years ago, 21,765 birds have been banded from 106 different species. In 2019 we had the fourth highest number of birds banded: 1,089 from 69 species. The most birds ever banded was in 1996, when 1,706 birds were banded. That year 694 Yellow-rumped Warblers were banded, which is the highest single species count for the station. The rarest bird that I've caught there was a female Cerulean Warbler—the only one ever caught at the station. One day a reporter was checking the nets with me; when we went to the south net there was a bird I had never seen before. I don't think he believed me. We took the bird back to the banding table where, after looking it up, the bird turned out to be a Grasshopper Sparrow—a life bird for my life list! We band at the Crown Point Historic Site under permits from the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preser va- tion, and the DEC . Lisa Polay, site manager, and her staff have been ver y helpful in promoting our banding operation. I stay on-site during the banding operation to protect our equip- ment and catch both the early and late birds. Most years, after dark I tr y to catch courting American Woodcocks and owls, which is something I have accomplished a few times. One night I was chasing around a Woodcock with a light and hand net. It stopped calling and a Saw-whet Owl started. I put up two nets in the dark, played the owl's call, and two minutes later I had the little owl in the net. Sometimes it hap- pens that fast. Banding at my home at Eight Acre Wood in Inlet, since 2006, I've banded 8,977 birds. The most unusual bird I've captured there would be a Carolina Wren—a bird that has been moving north with climate change. I've also caught a few Northern Shrikes who come around the feeders tr ying to catch the smaller birds during the winter and end up getting caught themselves. In the fall I've banded 61 Northern Saw- whet Owls, which are traveling south; they are attracted to the nets by playing a taped call. On Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July weekend, and maybe one other time during the summer I band Ruby-throat- ed Hummingbirds with Ted Hicks, who has a permit to band them at the Stillwater Hotel and Restaurant. We've been banding hummers there since 2012. We never know which day we will be banding, but we tr y to go on a dr y day, as it's not much fun in the rain. Owners Joe and Marian Romano feed the hummers on the porch of the restaurant, some- times there maybe 60 of these little birds in the air around you. We take down most of the feeders and put up a special trap for hummers with a feeder inside. We usually set up by 7:30 a.m. and take down by 11 in the morning. People are welcome to watch the operation, and maybe even hold a hummer in their hand for a release. Cameras are snapping photos of hummers in the trap, hummers in the air, and hummers in hand. We have caught as many as 54 in one year, but numbers seem to be on the decline the last couple of years. We do get some birds that we've banded in previous years, some two years back. If you are into birding or just getting started, this is a great educational and fun opportunity to experience something new. We hope to see you. For more information feel free to email Gar y at eightacre- woodmouse@hotmail.com Gar y Lee and Joan Hermann

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