2004 Public Humbanding Schedule

Created on: December 15^th 2003

Hummingbird Banding at the
Rudeen Ranch, Power County, IDAHO

In 2002 a mutual friend put me in contact with Kent and Francine Rudeen who own a ranch in the hills south of American Falls. The ranch has been in the Rudeen family for nearly a century, and Kent and Francine have been actively feeding hummingbirds there since before 1985. It started out slow, but now they are feeding at least 7 quarts of sugar water to swarms of hungry hummingbirds each day for most of the summer. Needless to say, this is a wonderful place to study hummingbirds, and we are excited about what we are learning.

Three species of hummingbirds nest at the ranch, which covers most of a mountain valley, complete with juniper, sage, aspen, and a host of other plants. The most abundant hummingbirds by far are CALLIOPES. Fair numbers of BROAD-TAILEDS are also present, and BLACK-CHINNEDS are slightly less abundant but still visible. During fall migration, which begins in July and runs through late August, the number of hummers increases with the addition of immature birds and those arriving from farther north. RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS may also be seen during this period.

Since 2003, Peterson's banding team has been banding hummingbirds at the ranch during the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend. We are learning a lot about how long hummingbirds live, their breeding site fidelity, their winter survival rates, and how they may hybridize!

We are indebted to the gracious hosts, Kent and Francine, and really appreciate the opportunity to study hummingbirds as well as just relax on their wonderful ranch. Not only do the Rudeens welcome researchers, they also encourage visitors to come to the ranch during our banding sessions to observe and learn about hummingbirds. It's not unusual to see several Audubon groups, newspaper reporters, and even television crews joining the other visitors who read about the event in local newspapers or simply heard about it from friends. The Rudeen family welcomes all, exemplifying western country hospitality.

Rudeen Ranch Banding Results

Banding Data -- The ugly raw totals and percentages of newly banded birds and recaptures for each species, by age and sex, at the Rudeen Ranch during Memorial Day Weekend sessions.
- Data from banding sessions outside Memorial Day Weekend
Percent Species Banded -- One neat table showing the percent of newly banded birds by species for each year -- Memorial Day Weekend banding trips and yearly overall totals.
Recapture Rates -- Tables showing recapture rates for each age class (After Second Year, After Third Year, etc.) for birds encountered during Memorial Day Weekend banding trips only.
Survival Rates -- What the recapture rates would have been if birds known to be alive (i.e., recaptured later) had been captured in prior years when they weren't. Confused? Me, too.
Noteworthy Observations -- Highlights or items we want to bring to your attention.

Donations: Our banding events are entirely self-funded (or supported through small private donations like yours). We gladly accept donations at our public banding sessions to help defray travel and equipment costs, but they certainly are not required. You can also donate online from your bank account via Paypal by clicking the link at left. Sorry, we are not a tax-exempt organization so your donation is not tax deductable. But it is greatly appreciated!

FUNDRAISERS: To help raise funds to defray our research costs, we are a distributor for the popular "Hooked on Hummingbirds" video. We also sell our own archival quality hummingbird photos. These are all available during our banding sessions at the Rudeen Ranch, but can also be ordered online here.

To return to the Idaho Hummers page, click here.

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