Hey Bob,

Since this isn't a flame I'll post it on-list...

I understand your sentiments especially since I used to feel the same
way up until a couple years ago.  I used to think bird banding was
kind of mean and I preferred to watch birds through binoculars without
interfering with them.  But once I started doing banding myself I
realized how resilient small birds are (there is a lot of strength
beneath those delicate feathers), and after banding several hundred
small birds I have not yet caused a fatality.  It's bound to happen
eventually and I'll feel horrible when it does, but when you consider
all the valuable information gained from banding, it's worth it.  One
nesting pair of Cooper's Hawks probably kills more birds per year than
all the bird banders in North America combined.  What a small price to
pay for the wealth of knowledge obtained.  Surely the number of birds
saved as a result of banding research will outnumber the number of
birds sacrificed.  Allen Chartier is a very experienced hummingbird
bander and my guess is that he has banded many hundreds of
hummingbirds with an extremely low fatality rate.

Dave Slager
Columbus, Ohio

On 10/16/09, Bob Hinkle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Call me sentimental, but jeepers, folks, aren't these migrating out-of-area
>  guys already under enough stress between being a zillion miles away from
>  their "normal" range and facing nights below freezing here in Ohio to have
>  to get their little butts banded?  Must every single one be banded to
>  "prove" what they are? Sounds like we've gone back to the days of "shotgun
>  identification".
>
>  I'd suggest that folks take a whole bunch of great photos ( we both know
>  lots of people will)  and then leave them the heck alone. Goodness knows
>  there are MORE than enough HUGE lenses around in amateur and professional
>  hands, and a long string of digital photos taken in full burst mode isn't
>  going to cost a darned thing to record and look at. The photos will be
>  amazingly detailed, as we've all seen from postings on OOS and other venues.
>
>  And yes, I support banding in general and in spring in particular. And yes,
>  I also know what the recovery rates are.
>
>  Seems like only yesterday that some bander killed one or more "out of area"
>  hummers in southern Ohio so they could get it "for the record". Maybe for
>  once just leave them the heck alone? They're stressed enough.
>
>  Let the flames begin, off list please.
>
>  Use  [log in to unmask]   Thanks.
>
>
>  Bob Hinkle
>  Solon, Ohio
>
>  ______________________________________________________________________
>
>  Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
>  Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
>  Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>
>  You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
>  http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
>  Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
>


--
Dave Slager
Graduate Student
Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab
School of Environment and Natural Resources
The Ohio State University
210 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road
Columbus, OH  43210-1085
[log in to unmask]

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]