Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Hummingbird Bander

STORY:
BATCHELDER: You know some people hunt, fish, golf, ski, snowmobile. We band hummingbirds. That?s what we do.
SOUND: Hummingbird flying
SOUND: This is another Black-chinned. This is an adult female. So let me get a band ready here. We have a little toe of a nylon stocking here that we put them in on their back.
SOUND: Wind
BATCHELDER: These are feisty, mean birds. They are not gentle little birds. They?re mean birds. If you watch their behavior they?ll drive another right down to the ground. I mean to establish a breeding territory and a food source. This is serious business.
SOUND: Pliers clinking
SOUND: I?ll load the band inside the pliers here. I will grab a hold of her claws. There?s her little drumstick, like any other bird. When I close these pliers it circles the band around her leg. It doesn?t pinch her leg at all. She?ll wear this for the rest of her life. She will be known as this letter and five digits. If she?s ever recaptured anywhere we will know more about her lifestyle.
SOUND: Wind chimes
BATCHELDER: Yeah you look into the eye of these hummingbirds and look at their pupil and various things and sometimes we think we see the center of the universe. You know it?s something that you don?t usually get to do with such a tiny creature. I don?t know the language yet, but they?ve got plenty to tell us. We just have to watch and listen. The more we know about each other then probably the better the world is going to be for all of us.
SOUND: Wind chimes
SOUND: And that?s it. We?ve interrupted her life for probably three to five minutes. We?re going to turn her back. And maybe you will hear her wings as she takes off. I am going to open my hand here and she?s ready.
SOUND: Hummingbird flies away and hovers
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Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio

WEB:
[0730AK_Hummingbird.jpg]
A hummingbird feeds at a flower. The small bird weighs about as much as a penny. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Learn more about humming birds:
www.hummingbirdsplus.org
www.hummingbirds.net
trochilds.com