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Allan Chartier, who will make a presentation to the Shelby Gardeners Club April 13 at the Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center, bands the legs of hummingbirds for research purposes.
Photo provided by Allan Chartier
Allan Chartier
Photo provided by Allan Chartier
SHELBY TOWNSHIP — The Shelby Gardeners Club is having a special presentation all about hummingbirds at its 1 p.m. April 13 program at the Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center in Shelby Township.
Allen Chartier, a researcher who reportedly holds the only master permit for hummingbird banding in the state of Michigan, will teach the program.
Hummingbird banding is a technique for safely capturing the birds, placing numbered bands on their legs and releasing them. He has been doing so since 1997.
“We learn a lot about the birds, and my program will share some of those findings (the banding technique). I will also be talking about gardening for hummingbirds as well as hummingbird feeding tips,” he said via email.
He is the co-editor of “A Birder’s Guide to Michigan,” published by the American Birding Association.
Chartier has been a contributing author for various projects with National Geographic including “Complete Birds of North America,” “Complete Birds of the World,” and the app Handheld Birds.
In Autumn 2001, Chartier formed the Great Lakes HummerNet primarily to learn more about hummingbirds in the Great Lakes region, focusing on ruby-throated hummingbirds in Michigan, by enlisting the help of volunteer observers throughout the region. Data are gathered through observation as well as banding studies. He said other species of hummingbird that occur as “vagrants” are also studied.
This presentation will describe the research objectives of the project, tell audience members how they can participate, provide helpful hints on how to attract and feed hummingbirds, provide hummingbird gardening tips, and review what has been learned so far. It will also review the status of other species of hummingbirds confirmed to occur in the region.
Nadine Thacker, the programming vice president for the Shelby Gardeners Club, said she is looking forward to learning everything there is to know about the cute little birds.
“Hummingbirds always visit the red and purple flowers that I plant on my patio. Visitors to my yard are enchanted by these tiny birds. Their wings move so fast you can’t even see them as they dart in and out of the flowers,” Thacker said in an email.
Chartier’s blog can be found at mihummingbirdguy.blogspot.com.
Donations for the club’s community presentations are appreciated.
For general questions about the Shelby Gardeners Club or for questions regarding membership, contact Cheryl Sypniewski, the club’s president, at (586) 823-8555.
The Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center is located at 4101 River Bends Drive, near Ryan and Hamlin roads.
