Through this sleeve the volunteer carefully reaches the trapped bird and gently removes it from the cage and places it in a banding bag. Dave Patton, a registered hummingbird bander catches a bird by reaching through the sleeve into the cage. The closing apparatus that operates by remote control is clearly seen in this photo. The advantages of this design is that capture is much faster, contact with the bird is more limited, and there is less chance that the bird will be injured. The disadvantage is that the cage is heavy, bulky and difficult to transport.
Gentleness is important so that the hummingbird's heart and lungs can continue to function normally.
The photo on the left shows Dave holding a cloth bag in his left hand as he carefully removes the tiny bird. The bird is immediately placed into the bag after it is removed from the cage. The photo on the right shows a thrilled young volunteer on her way to the banding table with the captured bird safely contained in the cloth bag. All rights reserved.