Research in ornithology and other disciplines began at Hilton Pond Center in the summer of 1982 when we returned from four years of graduate work in the hinterlands of Minnesota. Back home in the Carolinas we had hoped to continue research on behavioral ecology of Blue Jays but found too small a local population, so we shifted to a more general goal of learning as much as we could about all aspects of natural history in the Carolina Piedmont. Birds have always been a core topic of interest, of course, and in 29 years of general banding we've captured 54,877 individual birds of 124 species. In 1984 we began concentrating on migration, survival, and site fidelity in Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and in 27 field seasons have banded 4,288 ruby-throats.

All text, charts, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Many of those birds--including the Cedar Waxwing above--were measured, aged, sexed, banded, and safely released never to be seen again, while others became year-round residents or were encountered elsewhere. A substantial number have been recaptured locally at least once and some we can refer to as "trap junkies" that have been trapped or netted over . . . and over . . . and over again. Through capture, mark, and release, banding is a irreplaceable research tool that tells us things about birds we'd never know otherwise, and it's also a terrific teaching device that enthralls, entertains, and educates. Research and education together lead to better conservation of birds and their habitats--which is all the impetus we need to continue long-term banding studies at Hilton Pond Center.

Unfortunately, our banding effort in 2010 was much less productive than we would have liked; several factors interfered so much with running mist nets and traps that we ended up with just 1,235 bandings--our second-lowest banding total for 22 "full years" of work at the Center, i.e., years in which we were in residence for all or most of the 12-month period. (Obligations elsewhere took us away from Hilton Pond during seven "partial" years.) As depicted on Chart 1 above, the only less productive year was 2003 when we banded 1,191 individuals; both 2003 and 2010 ended up far below our average yearly captures of 1,892. We also didn't do too well species-wise this year, capturing only 55--significantly below the long-term average of 68.4 and scarcely more than half the all-time high of 95 species banded in 1991.

So what WERE the factors that led to our low totals for 2010. For one, we can blame the weather. We've been at Hilton Pond for nearly three decades and don't really remember such temperature extremes as occurred in the past 12 months. For the Charlotte area--the closest major reporting station for which long-term records are easily accessible--2010 included the second warmest summer ever recorded with an average temperature of 81.1 degrees. Only 1993 was hotter--just barely--at 81.5 degrees.

Such stifling heat is to be expected 'round these parts in August, but we expect June in the South to be a little more civil as we gradually get used to the dog days of summer. June 2010 didn't turn out to be the warmest on record for York and Hilton Pond Center--five others in more than a century of recorded weather history were hotter--but it WAS the first time June EVER had 18 consecutive days on which the thermometer went above 90 (see Chart 2 just above). Along the way June also tied two record highs on the 15th and 24th (orange numerals on the chart). Altogether, of the 92 days June through August, 67 of them reached highs of 90 degrees or more, with readings of 101 on 8 and 25 July. The bottom line is when it's above 90 degrees at the Center we generally refrain from running mist nets to avoid HYPERthermia among our captures, Besides, sweaty fingers on a bander's hands stick to feathers and don't make for easy net extractions.

All text, charts, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

CHART 3: Click on image above to open a larger chart in a new browser window

And then came early winter 2010, which included the second coldest December on record for the greater Charlotte area, including York and Hilton Pond Center. Average temperature for the month was 34.8 degrees, with 33.4 degrees in 1917 the only colder December in a hundred-plus years. It wasn't just chilly--it was bitterly cold . . . frigid even! As noted on Chart 3 above, overnight lows for the month--with only three exceptions--were all below freezing, and some were 'way below. Objectively speaking, any month that includes FIVE all-time low temperatures--orange numerals on the chart above--instantly qualifies as a month too cold to run mist nets, if only to avoid HYPOthermia among captured birds. Besides, frosty fingers lose their flexibility and make net extractions both difficult and painful--especially when one of those nippy Northern Cardinals clamps down on a bander's half-frozen digit.

All text, charts, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

All text, charts, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Although it's hard to document, a third non-weather influence on banding productivity at Hilton Pond Center has to do with habitat change. When we first occupied the site back in 1982 (photo above), there were only a few big trees around the old farmhouse; the rest was essentially open and at most a year or two into old-field succession after a century of grazing and row-crop farming--corn, cotton, and soybeans. We were determined not to cut 11 acres of grass, so we laid out and groomed our permanent trails and otherwise let nature take over.

All text, charts, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

By the mid-1990s Broomsedge and asters had been replaced at the Center by Eastern Red Cedar, Sweetgum, and Winged Elm--a common threesome of early successional trees in the Carolina Piedmont. These are already giving way to oaks, hickories, Black Cherry, and other hardwoods, with a few Loblolly Pines scattered throughout. The good news is that we now host a nice mixed woodland; the bad news is that in 2010 (above) trees block our view of the sunset AND the young forest habitat no longer supports a variety of grassland and shrubland birds quite common locally until about ten years ago.

Of the 124 bird species captured since 1982 at Hilton Pond Center, 23 have been banded at least 400 times (see Chart 4 above). Of those, the four "winter finches"--House Finch, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, and Pine Siskin--continue to comprise nearly half of all bandings. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are doing well (see below for details about our 2010 hummer bandings), but for many members of the "400 Club" annual numbers have declined significantly. Resident shrubland species such as Northern Cardinal, Eastern Towhee, Brown Thrasher, and Gray Catbird are banded at much lower rates, and even formerly common migrant shrub-loving species such as White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos are 'way down. Again, we are inclined to attribute these declines--at least in part--to local habitat change.

Oddly, three members of the "Hilton Pond 400 Club" were not even represented in this year's banding tallies: Common Grackle (900 banded locally since 1982; high of 164 banded in 1983; 29-year average of 31 banded); Ruby-crowned Kinglet (570; 81 in 1991; 20 avg.); and American Robin (759 & 171 in 1991 & 26). Of these we doubt habitat change has made much difference, except perhaps for kinglets that always seemed to hang out in our once-dense growth of understory Eastern Red Cedars.

With a low banding total for 2010 one should expect numbers of banded individuals by species would also be down, and that is indeed the case. Table 1 (below) lists all bird species banded since 1982, their banding tallies for 2010, and 29-year highs and averages for each.

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