Scientific Data

Hummingbird Banding and Research

by Joan E. Day-Martin

Few birds have been as little studied and misunderstood as hummingbirds. New Mexico is host to many species during the breeding season. Our state also contains multiple migration routes which are used by these tiny jewels. Very few states are able to claim the diversity in hummingbird species as New Mexico. Joan is one of only about 60 in the world to possess a permit issued by the Federal Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service authorizing her to capture and band hummingbirds. Traveling through out the state since 1994 Joan has bandedover 7000 hummingbirds, documented the furthest northern record of White-eared hummingbirds in NM, recaptured a Rufous that had been banded on Vancouver Island and added new species to the New Mexico Bird List. Joan has also participated in the "Migratory Pollinator Program" collecting pollen samples for study by the Sonora-Desert Museum in Tucson. When Joan isn't busy with banding she gives countless lectures and slide presentations to various groups, schools and communities, sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge with many.