Wildlife Photograph

Hummingbird experts speak at Ijams

Saturday July 11, 2009
Sargent's presentation/bird banding begin at 6 PM



By Lyn Bales

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are marvels, tiny dynamos. From the time they arrive in early April until the last ones depart in the Fall, the spirited birds fill our backyards with feathered panache. But what do we truly know about their life histories?

Well, it turns out, we know quite a bit. And a lot of what we have learned, we owe to the work and dedication of licensed bird-banders  Bob and Martha Sargent, who literally wrote the Wild Bird Guide on the "Ruby-throated Hummingbird" published by Stackpole Books.

On Saturday, July 11, the Sargents will be at Ijams to do a presentation on the only hummingbird to nest east of the Mississippi River. The program is sponsored by the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS), the local bird club that H.P. Ijams helped organize 85-years ago.

Bob and Martha Sargent also operate a banding and training site at their home near Trussville, Alabama. At this site they annually band over 800 ruby-throated hummingbirds. They are also leaders in the pioneering study of wintering hummingbirds and travel thousands of miles each winter to capture, identify, band and document these rare species that are found in the eastern United States. The Sargents are recipients of the American Birding Association's prestigious 2003 Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contribution to Regional Ornithology.

Additionally, on July 11, licensed bird bander Mark Armstrong, in-coming president of KTOS, will set up a banding station at Ijams, so that visitors get to see hummingbirds and the banding process up-close. There will also be a chance to "Adopt a Hummingbird"
and a silent auction to raise money for the KTOS's J.B. Owen Memorial Endowment Fund.

The banding begins at 6 p.m. and the Sargents presentation is scheduled for 7:30.

Sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Ijams Nature Center and KTOS.

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