The Intermountain Bird Observatory at Boise State is hosting several hummingbird banding sessions that the public can check out to learn more about these birds and the research being done.
The Intermountain Bird Observatory has been studying hummingbirds near Idaho City for years. 2026 marks the second year of research and banding at Bogus Basin to learn more about this unique bird and its habitat.
WATCH: Get an up close look at a hummingbird banding
"The Calliope hummingbird that we are banding this morning is the smallest migrating bird in the whole world," said Heidi Ware Carlisle, the executive director of education. "They migrate about 2,000 miles down to Mexico and 2,000 miles back up."
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During the first session of the season, every bird the Intermountain Bird Observatory caught were hummingbirds they banded last year.
"This helps us confirm really high site fidelities so we know the birds really love this habitat, which can tell us more about are we doing a good job managing this habitat," said Ware Carlisle.
Banding hummingbirds requires getting permits and doing a ton of training to be able to put such a small band on such a small bird. Banding provides information to researchers, and it all happens in just a few minutes.
"In that short amount of time, we are able to get all the data we need to understand what they are up to in this snapshot of time," said Ware Carlisle. "That can kind of help us piece together their whole life story. When did they get here in the spring? When do they lay their eggs? How many babies did they have this year? We are getting all of that data just by having that bird for a few minutes."
It was fun seeing the reaction of the visitors who got to feel the heartbeat of the Calliope hummingbird. They put their hands together, providing a platform for the bird to fly away, and everybody came away more educated about these birds and their habitat.
"We love bringing visitors up here," said Ware Carlisle. "We can do our research, and we don’t have to invite the public, but by bringing these visitors, I now have 15 more people who care about hummingbirds, probably more than they did yesterday."
If you are interested in checking out a banding session, click here. There is also a ton of information on the work the Intermountain Bird Observatory is doing. Want to help out? You can click here.
