Spring and Summer of
2015
MOTHER NATURE THROWS A PARTY AND NOBODY COMES
After several years of drought and dwindling numbers of
birds and species, the winter of 2014/2015 resulted in the fewest number of
winter birds and species banded since we started our work at the Hummer
House. We entered 2015 with high hopes but
not knowing what we might expect during the spring migration and early summer
breeding seasons. What followed was the
wettest spring in many years for the Concho Valley. In a short few months, more moisture was
received than the annual totals for the drought years. It was often difficult, if not impossible to
reach our banding areas near the south Concho River because of impassable roads. However, we made valiant efforts to band
there by walking into that area and carrying our banding equipment. Not a single result was worthy of our effort. We have consistently
banded the fewest number of passerines that we have ever banded during the
spring migration at the Hummer House. We finished spring migration with less
than half our normal number of migrant species.
Not only were passerine numbers and species in short
supply, the hummingbird numbers at the Hummer House were well below average for that site. Passerine banding efforts at sites in the
Concho Valley were very similar to those at the Hummer House and the
hummingbirds at those sites were well below average. In contrast to the Concho
Valley, the Burditt Ranch in the Hill Country was the site of swarms of
hummingbirds for entire spring. It seemed as though all of the missing
hummingbirds in the Concho Valley stopped there and never came north.To this date, our best and most important records are the
hummingbirds that we caught at the Burditt Ranch during the spring migration
that were originally banded at the Hummer House. These records offer further evidence of migration
routes used by some of the Black-chinned Hummingbirds as they pass through west
Texas.
With even common birds present in reduced numbers across the
Concho Valley, we have a puzzle unlike others that we have encountered in our
banding experience. It could be that the cumulative effects of our extended
drought have finally resulted in these numbers. It could also be true that
populations are at or above numbers seen during the drought years. It is possible that the lush vegetation,
plentiful insect populations, and scattered water sources from the record
rainfall have allowed those populations that have been restricted by the
drought to spread out across the region into areas not covered by our banding
stations.
The true answer
probably lies somewhere between those extremes. Inspection of nest sites and
the number of hatching year birds encountered indicate a smaller than average
population. However, the presence of nesting
sites throughout the environment indicates a scattering of the
populations. Just when you believe that you have all the answers, you realize the questions are not nearly as
simple as first indicated and many things factor into the equations that you
have never considered.