I had a wonderful experience recently visiting the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge for a hummingbird tagging event. An expert was therefore two hours, catching and tagging hummingbirds so they can track them and learn more about them. With only three or four of us watching at one time, we really got up close and personal! They'll be doing another event in about a month, to see what new species of hummingbirds have arrived.
A net is set up over a feeder.
When the hummingbird comes to drink…
The tagger releases a string that drops the net
and catches the bird, or in this case two of them.
She retrieves the hummingbird and bags it.
A tiny metal ring gets clipped around the bird's tiny ankle.
They weigh the bird, measure various body parts, and record what they find. I didn't get a picture, but she used a straw to blow on the hummingbirds' bellies. This blew the downy feathers out of the way, exposing the belly, which does not grow feathers. They recorded whether or not the birds had noticeable fat. None of these did, which means they are not getting ready to migrate.
After letting the bird take a long drink of nectar, she passed the bird to me so I could release her. The hummingbird sat on my palm for almost a minute! Then she flew off too fast to see.
Kris Bock lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, rock
climbing, and watching the sunset from her patio. Her home office looks out on
nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners and foxes. Her
BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely the
Southwest is.
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The Mad Monk's
Treasure is currently
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Kris writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor
adventures and Southwestern landscapes. The
Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New
Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure,
estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of
complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon
Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a
mysterious man track down his missing uncle. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among
ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found
is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a
murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits,
stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town.
Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will
want to check out Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed
since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.”
5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog
Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com
or visit her Amazon
page. Sign up for the Kris Bock
newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.
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