Saturday, August 29, 2015
For five years the folks at Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw have hosted the Hummingbird Banding Festival. The event brings hundreds of people to the botanical gardens as they watch specialists capture hummingbirds as they migrate south to take measurements and then release them back into the wild.
This year marks the most hummingbirds measured during the event open to the public. Photography enthusiasts and families alike got an up close and personal experience with these small birds. I personally love hummingbirds. The strength and energy it takes for this tiny bird to stay in flight is amazing. They have to constantly eat (which may be another reason I like them…foodie that I am) whether it be nectar or insects to keep up with their extremely fast metabolisms.
Hugh Granden (left) helps release a hummingbird back into the wild with the help of Julia Elliott as Ricardo Irizarry watches during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Julia Elliott holds an adult male hummingbird between her fingers as Bobbie Worster (left) and her husband Moe take photographs during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Emma Rhodes takes measurements of a hummingbird during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Natalie Keszthelyi (right) helps release a hummingbird back into the wild during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Natalie Keszthelyi (right) helps release a hummingbird back into the wild during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Karen Theodorou reaches for a hummingbird that has yet to be identified and measured during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Karen Theodorou holds an adult male hummingbird between her fingers during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
A hummingbird hovers in the air during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Karen Theodorou reaches for a hummingbird that has yet to be identified and measured during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Emma Rhodes takes measurements of a hummingbird during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
Emma Rhodes takes measurements of a first year male hummingbird during the Hummingbird Banding Festival at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw on Saturday, August 29, 2015.