Hello all,

I would like to second Dave's endorsement of bird banding, especially hummingbird banding.  Bird banding is a highly-regulated endeavor, and like physicians, a bander's first priority is to 'do no harm.' Bird watchers and scientists would only have a general idea of the movements of hummingbirds without banding them.  Hummingbirds can be quick and inconspicuous during migration, so occurrence data is of limited use. Here is an interesting website describing the details of hummingbird banding as well as some interesting movements of individual birds:
http://losbird.org/bulletin/03newfield.htm

-Jackie Augustine
Lima, OH