Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were banded for the first time ever in Michigan beginning on 7 August 2001. This Michigan hummingbird research is not based at a single migration site, but rather was conducted through contacts generated by the creation and announcement of the Michigan HummerNet. Twenty-three sites, primarily private homes, were visited from 7 August - 1 November in Wayne, Oakland, Monroe, Washtenaw, Genesee, Jackson, and Van Buren counties. This represented a total of 69.0 hours of effort on 36 days, using a single drop-door cage trap. This also required about 1400 miles of driving!

A total of 51 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds was banded, plus 1 Rufous Hummingbird (17 Oct, Paw Paw, Van Buren Co.), Michigan's first ever banded. Another Rufous Hummingbird was captured on 1 November 2001 near Ortonville, Oakland Co., that had been previously banded in Hendersonville, North Carolina on 2 December 2000 by Susan Campbell. Details of this amazing re-encounter will be published in Michigan Birds & Natural History. Click here for details and photos of these two Rufous Hummingbirds.  A very late Ruby-throated Hummingbird (HY-M) was banded on 17 October 2001 in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co. where two were reported the previous day.

The age/sex breakdown was: AHY-M (8), AHY-F (18), HY-M (8), and HY-F (15). This is graphed in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Age/Sex ratios of banded hummingbirds
(Aug & Sep only, n=50)

Daily totals are shown in Table 1 below.

Date

No.Banded 

Sites

Trap 
Hours

Temp (F)

Weather

07 Aug 2001

1

RRBO

3.00

85

Pt. Cloudy

08 Aug 2001

0

RRBO

2.50

80

Pt. Cloudy

10 Aug 2001

3

OAK1, WAS1

5.50

75-85

Pt. Cloudy

14 Aug 2001

0

RRBO

2.25

65

Pt. Cloudy

15 Aug 2001

4

WAS2

3.00

70

Pt. Cloudy

16 Aug 2001

4

WAS3, WAS3a

2.00

70

Lt. Rain

17 Aug 2001

3

OAK2

2.25

75

NW Wind

20 Aug 2001

0

OAK3

1.50

65

Lt. Rain

21 Aug 2001

0

RRBO

1.50

70

Pt. Cloudy

22 Aug 2001

12

GEN1, WAS1

3.75

65

Overcast

23 Aug 2001

4

OAK4

2.50

65

Fog, Overcast

27 Aug 2001

4

OAK1

2.50

65

Pt. Cloudy

28 Aug 2001

8

WAS4, WAS5,WAS6

6.25

70-80

Clear

30 Aug 2001

2

JAC1, WAS7

4.75

65-75

Pt. Sunny - Clear

31 Aug 2001

0

RRBO

2.00

70

Overcast

04 Sep 2001

1

OAK5, RRBO

3.25

60-75

Clear - Pt. Cloudy

06 Sep 2001

0

RRBO

3.00

60

Pt. Cloudy

07 Sep 2001

1

RRBO, OAK6

4.00

70-80

Pt. Cloudy

12 Sep 2001

1

MON1, LEMP

2.50

65-75

Pt. Cloudy - Clear

14 Sep 2001

0

LEMP

1.00

55

Clear, strong NE wind

18 Sep 2001

0

LEMP

2.00

70

Overcast, strong NE wind

20 Sep 2001

1

JAC2

2.50

60

Overcast

27 Sep 2001

1

WAS8, WAS1

5.00

50-55

Pt. Sunny

17 Oct 2001

2 
(1 Rufous)

WAS6, VAN1

0.75

40-50

Pt. Cloudy, windy

01 Nov 2001

0
(Rufous recap)

OAK7

0.25

55

Overcast

Table 1. Daily banding totals, effort, and conditions.

Also during August and December, third-hand reports of a Rufous Hummingbird were received from St. Clair and Lapeer counties, but the birds had left by the time the reports were received. Recent fall seasons have seen perhaps 2-3 confirmed records of Rufous Hummingbird in Michigan. Another homeowner, while sharing arrival dates of their hummingbirds tracked since 1994, and demonstrating knowledge of the local Hummingbird Hawkmoths, told me that two hummingbirds arrived in their yard in late February 1996! Surely there is much to be learned about hummingbirds in Michigan.

I wish to thank all of my "hummer hosts" for allowing me to come onto their property to band hummingbirds.