Record Year for the Ruby-throated Hummingbird?

Banders at the Powdermill Nature Center, located near Rector, Pennsylvania, just north of northcentral West Virginia, are on pace to break a 40-year-old banding record for the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Through September 6, they had banded 217 birds, already the second-highest banding total and fast approaching the record of 309 set in 1961. View their web page to see a graph of hummingbird banding totals, 1961-2001, and to read their explanation for this years record-setting numbers of hummingbirds (hint: an unusual abundance of jewelweed).