Hi All,
 
The issue of banding every vagrant hummingbird is comparable to the debates that have raged in many venues in the past regarding the collection of vagrant birds for documentation purposes.  Collecting has also been justified with the argument that it was needed to gain more information for science about the movement of bird species.
 
While I understand the need to gain information for scientific purposes, I’m not sure banding alone can be justified as the sole source of information generated about a bird’s movements.  I think Bob does make a good point about the value of photos for documentation and identification purposes.  I also wonder why every vagrant hummingbird must be banded, but it is not necessary to band other vagrant species like the Northern Wheatear or nominate Red-naped Sapsucker of Holmes County?  Wouldn’t banding those species have also potentially aided in our understanding on the movement of vagrant species?
 
Unfortunately, the issue of banding vagrants is a bit of dilemma.  As such I’ll leave sentiment on the matter up to the individual.  Personally, I'm not opposed to collecting or banding as long as the data generated is actually used to generate peer-reviewed scientific papers that add to our collective knowledge on birds, or is made available publicly so that others may use it for research purposes to generate peer-reviewed scientific papers.  However, if it is just used as a hobby or to generate another story for a blog then I question its value.
 
There are a number of articles, both for and against, scientific collecting that might make for interesting reading and might shed a little incite into this debate.
 
-“On Behalf of the Rare Bird,” Birding magazine, 1970-71?
-“Values of Scientific Collecting/Collecting Must Stop”, Birding 2(3): 5-8. 1965. 
-“To Kill A Hummingbird,” Birding magazine, June 1984, pp. 109-111.
-“Two Views on Collecting Vagrants,” Birding magazine, April 1993, pp. 129-132.
-“Collecting Vagrants” (LTE), Birding magazine, December 1993, pp. 374-375.
-“A Summary and Comparison of Bird Mortality from Anthropogenic Causes with an Emphasis on Collisions,” USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. 2005
 
 
Good birding,
 
Casey
Columbus, Ohio                                          
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