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Banding BluebirdsIn addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website: Mortality of Banded Adult Eastern Bluebirds by T. David Pitts and Robert W.Snow Subj: Banding Date: 8/13/99 9:02:52 AM Central Daylight Time From: klip"at"clarityconnect.com (D.T.Smith) David and Phyllis Smith - Dryden in south central New York. Nearing completion of our sixth year banding bluebirds and tree swallows, as part of the Cornell Nestbox Network program, Bruce Burdett's post was interesting. Especially during the first couple years we wondered what happened to the bluebirds we banded - not so much mystery regarding tree swallows which were found almost immediately. Most amusing/rewarding was the return of a tree swallow band which our grandson extricated from a road-killed. Several banded bluebird discoveries may be of interest. One returned to the same nestbox where banded while incubating the previous year. Another female has nested three successive years in adjacent nestboxes. Another banded as a nestling, nested more than twenty miles away this year. Numerous females have nested in nestboxes near where they were banded as adults the previous year. Banding adults is especially rewarding because they tend to return to nest in the general vicinity where they were banded. Seldom have we found adults returning that were banded as nestlings. Each year more banded females are returning to nest on our bluebird trail. We must concede that only a small percentage of those banded are found, but when they are, certain evidence of bluebird habits is provided. Congratulations and best wishes to all who make this listserver so informative and entertaining. Keep the Messages coming. A little controversy makes all of us think a little deeper. Gladly there seems to be no malice evidenced in the differences of opinion. Subj: welcome/banding questions During the late 1980's a male
Mountain bluebird evidently got lost during spring migration and ended up nesting
with an eastern bluebird female on the trail of Joe & Gertrude Hurst. While this cross breeding
between these "species" was not that unusual during this time period the
location was. Joe's trail is near Port Stanley, Ontario roughly due North of
Cleveland Ohio & right on the north shore of lake Erie. Surprisingly none
of the 8 eggs laid in two different nesting attempts netted any young but this
is still the farthest east the mountain bluebirds have ever been recorded to Subj: banding studies Subj: Banding birds Subj: Re: Banding birds Subj: re: banding birds e-mail Date: 11/21/99 12:34:18 PM Central Standard Time From: Tsapling"at"aol.com It occurred to me that if you attract bluebirds to a box that looks like it is a trap but isn't, you are effectively teaching bluebirds to fly into traps because it didn't hurt them and provided refuge to them. It doesn't sound like a good lesson to me. Tina I from California Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2000 22:14:11 EST I am going to be working with a bander who is going to band my Bluebirds. We were attempting to do color banding, but it doesn't look like it will be approved since there are so many banders doing color banding.In order to show homing, survival and dispersal rates, I have been advised that the practice used is checking the boxes a night while the female is incubating; checking and recording any band on the female. My question is, how safe is this? Safe, in that, once the female is returned to the box, out of fear, won't she leave the box? Thanks in advance, Edie, Milford, Ohio, N. W. Clermont County Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2000 22:47:50 -0600 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas It seems if you only catch the female you will only collect half the available data on each nesting attempt. Harry Krueger did a "nest site fidelity & pair bonding/longevity" banding study in East Texas and used color bands. In sun after a season many of the colors are not stable and do not hold up so this made reading the numbers on the regular band more reliable. Also by the second year many of the plastic color bands were being lost by the birds. Harry used a radio controlled trap very similar to the Joe Huber style trap and found that the male bluebird MUST be caught first because he does not have the strong maternal instincts of the female. If the female is trapped first then the male would often give the female the insect so that she was the only one entering the nestbox to feed the young. Harry found that the male was easier to catch within the first three days of the young hatching as after that time the male is less regular at entering the nestbox to feed. Harry did not like the idea of catching the female on the nest at night and since he wanted to catch both birds at each nesting attempt then he had to catch the male during the day anyway. It is interesting to note that Harry had many of the same female's use the same box for several seasons even though Harry trapped them each and every nesting attempt the birds made in his boxes. This tells me that selective trapping during the day will not make the birds abandon their young or even abandon their nesting site for the rest of the season or often in the following seasons. It is also best if trapping is going to be done in the boxes that deep (at least 7" from bottom of hole to top of floor) nestboxes be used. A shallow nestbox like the Peterson box where the adults do not have to enter the box all the way to feed the young will make trapping very frustrating. In the East Texas banding study it was the male bluebirds from the previous year that seemed to "disappear" or "disperse" while the females were very often found nesting near their parents with unrelated males the next season. The second and third years more of the males would reappear along Harry's trail so it may have taken a mature bluebird male to drive out or replace one of the more experienced males along Harry's trail. Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 14:14:31 -0500 Bruce, Eastern Bluebirds' attitudes regarding being held do vary. Some females will allow you to pick them up from the nest and most will be very docile while they are being banded. A few will squawk and fidget, which brings the male in to check what's going on! Males, who are much more wary than females, can also be docile in the hand, but some will try to evade capture by going to the ceiling of the nestbox when you reach in to get them. It's fortunate that Bluebirds don't bite during banding like some species! Brenda Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 10:20:00 -0800 Hello all; Are there any Bluebird banders in or around the San Jose, California, area reading this list? I don't seem to recall reading any. If there are, either reply to the list or drop me a note directly. There are a number of folks with trails down here, and I'd like to organize things so that we can work with someone to get the birds banded. It seems like a good thing to do... Best regards, Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 12:02:43 -0800 Hi! All, My husband and I started a trail about 5 years ago. We have a trail of 70+ boxes on our property now. We banded the nesting females and the young. In Dec. '98 and Jan.'99 my husband and I discovered that our WEBL (Western Bluebirds) were using our nest boxes as roost boxes. We decide to see if any of them had been banded and where they were from. We would plug the box holes after dark and go out very early in the morning and check the plugged boxes. We found that many of the birds were banded and were ones we had banded as chicks. Many of them were in boxes that they had fledged out of and many were in boxes that were just one or two boxes away from where they had fledged. We also recaught hen WEBLs that we had banded while they were incubating the previous summer and they had not gone too far from where they had nested previously. This was also a good way to band male birds that we had not been able to catch during the nesting season. The main result of this study was that most of WEBLs we have on our trail are resident birds. We didn't catch a bird that had been banded by anyone other than ourseslves. We did capture and band birds that didn't have bands, so do not have any knowledge of their previous whereabouts. There are quite a few natural cavities in the many oaks that are on the property, so they could have hatched in them and we would not have had the opportunity to band them. We also had quite a few recaptures last summer when we checked our boxes during the nesting period. My husband did some trapping during the nesting season last summer as he wanted to band the male birds as well as the female birds. We had several recaptures from the previous nesting season and our winter trapping experience. I think this shows one of tha advantages of banding. I think those who band will tell you that very few bands are recovered by the natilonal banding lab from birds found dead in the wild. They (the bands as well as the bird) probably end up in the predators stomach. However, if anyone finds a dead bird in their travels, be sure to check for a band. We also have banded tree swallows, violet green swallows, titmice, whatever nests in our boxes. I'm sure other banders also band other birds along with the Bluebirds. We have found that top opening boxes work best for us for checking the nest and for removing the birds from the box for banding. Our boxes also have front openings so they are easier to clean. Just something to add to the nest box mix of ideas. For the lady asking about catching the females at night for banding, we have not done that during the nesting season. Our boxes are checked quite regularly, so have a good idea when the eggs are laid and when incubation was started. We let the hen incubate for 5-6 days, before attempting to band her. She is less apt to abandon after putting so much time in, in incubating. Janet King Northern Calif. Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 06:46:07 -0600 Just thought this might be of some interest from Northwest Montana. I've banded 90 chicks, 72 AHY-F, 2 AHY-M so far. Have RECAPTURED 4 AHY-M (MOBL), 74 AHY-F (MOBL); 1 AHY-M (WEBL), 21 AHY-F (WEBL) and color-banded all the AHYs. Due to the cool, wet, windy and blustry weather this month, nesting has really been slow, but I've found a lot of new eggs, but gobs of eggs in "nest-overs." Much fun. Erv (NW Montana) Date: Sun, 14 May 2000 07:52:16 -0400 Date: Sun, 14 May 2000 10:08:31 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 19:35:33 -0700 Hi Erv and all: This isn't meant to be a one-up contest. California, of
course is warmer and earlier (although see Kevin Putman's post about our
unseasonable weather). Our March was warm and open and the hens all got lots of
fat and energy. More clutches of 6 than usual. As of 5/13 I've banded 244 WEBL
including 10 Recaps, 105 OATI (4 recaps), 37 TRES, 30 WBNU, 6 BEWR, and 2 ATFL.
Can't keep up with all the requests from monitors. I haven't even tried to reach
my MOBL trail at 8000' -- still snowed in. You sure have the record for
recaptures. But we've only been banding here for 5 years. Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 19:44:34 -0700 Sorry we banders do it, but it isn't meant to "snow" anyone, just habit. Nestling = L (local); Hatching Year(capable of sustained flight) = HY; After Hatching Year= AHY. With certain species that take 2 years for full adult plumage such as female TRee SWallows, we also use SY=Second Year, and ASY=After Second Year. Every profession has its jargon. The ecologists are going wild. We used to
talk about how regularly the birds returned to the same nest. Someone came up
with a pretty nice term called Site Fidelity. Now they're calling it Philopatry!
Really. I sympathize but it's necessary to keep up with the jargon whether it's
good or bad. Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 23:42:54 -0500 Hi Erv, Hatch and all: I'm certainly not in the same league as you two guys in Montana and
California, but between April 21st and today, May 16th, these are my 93 L-U's (nestlings), I was most pleased to capture the male EABL late this afternoon. (He was feeding 12 day-old nestlings which I also banded.) This particular male is the mate to the female which nested in my side yard last year (1999) and was banded as a nestling in 1998! Thus far, in 2000, all but 4 of the birds were banded in my own nestboxes. The weather has been cold and rainy. Although a few birds have been lost to hypothermia (educated guess on my part) and a few clutches of eggs either did not hatch due to below freezing temps. during egg laying (before incubation) or were abandoned during the cold spell, house wrens moving way out into open habitat normally NOT considered wren habitat have caused more problems on my trails than anything else (destroyed eggs). How is the nesting season going for banders in other parts of the continent??? Ann Wick Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 21:47:23 -0700 Sorry about this but I'm really gratified that the monitors in my area are finally interested in having their birds banded. I reserve Fridays for my banding circuit, usually going to El Dorado County one week and Amador the next. Today I had the highest banding total ever. 81 birds in 19 nests over 122 miles of driving. Probably the highlight was a nest of WEstern BLuebirds where I've been unsuccessful in capturing the hen on the nest for 3 years. (Can't swear it's the same one, of course, but always very flighty.) I started early this morning because the day was forecasted in the 90's. At 0715, I reached into the nestbox to remove the babies for banding and the hen was brooding perhaps 7 day old birds (still chilly outside). I GOT HER, BY GEORGE, I GOT HER. and her 5 chicks besides. One of my best monitors, Ray Di Basilio, met me and had 7 nestboxes lined out, averaging 5 chicks/box, in his trail of 30. We're at 580 birds for what appears to be a record season. (Fingers crossed for the second round of clutches). Hatch Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 22:40:32 -0500 Hatch reported banding results (and this is a sincere question) - Why do you band? What information does this process give you over time and what use do you make of this information? Thanks. Bluebird Bob, Northeast Oklahoma. Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 23:23:36 -0500 for those interested in why we band birds...... Ann Wick ********** an excerpt from: BIRD BANDING -- THE HOWS AND WHYS prepared by Tom Nicholls and Leslie Stoltz, Bird banding, also known as ringing, is a technique used to study birds. This technique has increased our knowledge of birds more than any other study method. Banding helps us to identify a bird by its own uniquely numbered official aluminum band placed on its leg. No other banded bird has the same number just like each car has its own unique license plate number. The numbered band makes the bird an individual - we know who it is, the physical condition it was in when banded, where it has been, how long it lived, or how far it traveled since it was first captured. Much of our knowledge of bird life comes from bird banding studies such as its biology, ecology, life expectancy, breeding and wintering grounds, migration routes, migratory stopover and refueling sites, habitat use, and changes in population size. Because of the tremendous amount of information gained through banding efforts, banding is regarded as a primary tool in avian studies and conservation work. TRAPPING REQUIREMENTS - License from the U.S. Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.) - Extensive training from an experienced licensed bander: Rules and regulations Catching and handling birds safely Keeping accurate records Most birds are caught in mist nets that somewhat resemble a long black badminton net made out of hair-net. Unsuspecting birds fly into the net and drop into a pocket of netting. After a bird is trapped it is quickly and gently removed. Specific information about the bird is recorded before it is banded and released such as: - Age, sex, fat, weight, wing and tail length, molt and general health - Trapping location, habitat, day, time A healthy bird has a better chance of mating, nesting, reproducing and eluding predators WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A BIRD WITH A BAND CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-327-BAND (2263) Each band is engraved with both the unique serial number and an abbreviated address for the Fish & Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C. Anyone finding a live banded bird should record the band number and where, when and how the bird was found. Do not remove bands from live birds - release the birds with their bands intact. Send this information, along with your name and address to the U.S.G.S., Biological Resources Division, Bird Banding Lab., 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708. If the bird is dead, remove the band and send it along with the other information. The Bird Banding Lab. will send the finder a certificate of appreciation detailing where and when the bird was banded, and by whom. It will also send the bander information on how, where, and when the bird was found. BAND RECOVERY RATES The size and kind of bird usually determines the success of recovering a band. Waterfowl, such as geese and ducks, have been studied and banded much more than smaller passerine birds (perching birds such as sparrows, warblers and finches). - 30% of banded geese are recovered each year. - Less than 10% of banded warblers and other small birds are recovered. Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 12:06:40 -0400 I banded a clutch of four Eastern Bluebirds this morning, as well as capturing the adults. The female now sports a band, but the male was a recapture! I had banded him as a chick on 6/30/99 in a nestbox on the opposite side of the house. He now apparently holds the territory his father had last year. Brenda Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 08:30:42 -0700 I don't know how much is known about Eastern Bluebirds (EABL) but we know much less about Westerns (WEBL). The assumption is that they're pretty uch the same. Here, we have observed, that WEBLs hang around year round even though it's a meandering population. Lots of people assume the same pair comes back each year to the same box. But do they? Who takes over when they die? Where do all those babies go? Do they hang around waiting for a new box? How long do they live, anyway? What is the chance for survival of nestling fostered from a box raided by House Sparrows? If we move nestboxes out to expand their territory, how long does it take for them to disperse? -- a quarter mile a year, half, several? Where do the roost in the winter? Same box, different box/boxes? Do the families stay together in the winter? Do they have fidelity to the site, to the mate? If you've never wondered about any of these questions or don't care then banding is meaningless. If you've made assumptions but can't prove them, then perhaps you don't really know. I know of an adult female who nested in a box one year that moved 21 miles to build in another box the next year. I've had female chicks that moved 5 miles in one case, and 2.5 miles in another to nestboxes to breed, lay, and raise their own families. I've had a female that had two nests destroyed and went on to successfully fledge 3 out of her third nest; she moved about a quarter mile each time. I've had a male bluebird found dead after 3 years in the same nestbox he was hatched in. I've only been banding with this population in this location for 5 years but the information is beginning to accumulate. It takes many years and thousands of banded birds to yield meaningful results. Some of us think it's worth the effort. And, I believe, gives us better insight into the birds' problems. I know it makes me a better monitor by having each nestling in hand. I now can see the tiny sores on the legs from the blowflies rather than expecting to see the maggots attached to them. I can age them better. I can treat the nest for mites if I see them crawling on my hands. I can tell if they're lethargic from the cold or merely sleepy from being well-fed. I could go on. So for me, banding has many personal returns beyond the scientific value I'm sure it has. Hatch Graham ... Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 08:03:00 -0400 Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 10:19:07 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 17:28:49 -0400 Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 17:24:18 -0400 Thank you for your information about reporting the banded tree swallow.I did call the 800 number and spoke to a very nice woman and gave the information. She said she would send my sister in law and me the information about who banded the bird, how old the bird was,etc. Just like you said. YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!!! As soon as I get the info. I'll pass it on to you. I also asked about the West Nile Virus that is a disease carried by birds, but the woman didn't know anything about that. I know that it is carried by crows, but I don't know about other birds. Anyway she told me to get in touch with the Department of Natural Resources of New York State and maybe they could tell me the answer. My sister in law is going to call. I'll let you know about that also. Thanks again for coming to my rescue. I knew I could count on you. Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 17:52:19 EDT Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 20:26:06 -0400 From: t_k_bennett"at"juno.com Subject: Re: Reply to Joanne( Banding ) Hello Joanne, To answer your question about banding. It is not something we can do unless
we are licensed. Brenda Best does my banding for me. Today we went to my neices
and Brenda banded 5 bluebird chicks! Almost got the male, but he got away! When
my neice called me about seeing bluebirds across the street perching in trees, I
immediatly the next day, set up a nest box in her back yard. Within one day they
found the box and in one week built a nest, and the five banded today are from
that box! It's so exciting! Date: 27 Jun 2000 01:48:25 -0000 From: "Stan Merrill, St. Paul, MN" To: cas"at"superior.net, BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu Cc: stovenjm"at"dhms.isd196.k12.mn.us Subject: Bird Banding Hello Everybirdie! Having attended a bird banding session at our local School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley, MN, the purpose of banding birds is to track them...when "re-caught" in a bird banding area, or in case of death (as here). By sending in the band, (and sorry, I'll have to get the address)... Jan...HELP...to what address should bird bands be sent? they can trace the original site for the bird's banding, etc. More later, as I find out anything. Stan, St. Paul, MN ... Date: 27 Jun 2000 02:21:06 -0000 From: "Stan Merrill, St. Paul, MN" Subject: Bird Banding Hi Chickie and Everybirdie! When you obtain the information about the banded tree swallow, and post it to the List, may I encourage your labeling the "subject line" with some appropriate topic, [e.g. Banded Tree Swallow Report -- or whatever you choose] that will catch our attention. Some hit "reply" to the Message they're reading, and share what may be on their mind at the time -- maybe it ties in with that topic; and, again, maybe not. Anxious to know what you find out, I would NOT want to delete it, which I sometimes do, with the volume received, due to time available for scanning them. Thanks! Stan, St. Paul, MN ... Date: 27 Jun 2000 02:45:52 -0000 Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 08:21:21 -0400 Randy Jones Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 18:01:12 -0500 Chickie, You used to have to mail in the band to the USF&W but now you can call them. Be sure to call 1-800-327-2263 (BAND) to get the location the bird was banded
and other information. The number was set ub by the National Let us know the information they tell you about the bird, maybe the year it was banded. Anne DeVries ... Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 13:22:20 -0600 Dear Chickie, the # of where to report banded birds is listed in the Bluebird-L Reference Guide. http://bluebird.htmlplanet.com or http://crosswinds.net/~bluebirdguide/ Good luck! The banding center will contact the bander. H ... Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 20:47:06 -0400 Chickie, Here's the response I got from Linda Buttel at Cornell University about the
banded bird your sister-in-law found! I was also glad to hear you called the
Bird Banding Lab about this bird. Although I'm sorry to hear about the death
of this bird, it is adding to the knowledge of this species. Keep up the good
work! ... Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 17:56:24 -0400 Hi, I have other news as well. My one little, young bluebird fledged yesterday. When I went over to check, the nest was empty. I cleaned out the nest and am hoping that there will be another nest in that box soon. I am not having very good luck this year.Last year I had a total of 11 babies fledge. I won't be so lucky this year. It's kind of lonely around the farm without activity around the nest boxes.
My bluebird has fledged and so have my three nests of tree swallows. Thanks
again for your help. I know I can always count on you. Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 19:02:40 -0800 (PST) Happy Holidays to all... Question to the few people who have experience tagging Bluebirds... I would like to tag my birds during their nesting. How do I go about it in the proper way? Where do you get the training, permission, whatever else that's needed, etc? Is this about the only way to identify them from season to season? Thanks for any input... Horace in NC. Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 17:40:52 -0700 Hi Banders, Doris & Bill Allison, & List: Today, 4-25-01 I recaptured an SY-F(second year-female) W Bluebird incubating 4 eggs on my Hwy 124 trail. It was banded as an L-U (local-unknown sex) in Allison's 4-Bar-A Ranch box #26 on 7-5-00. The calculated direct distance from the lat-long is 3.9 miles. Allison's boxes are on fence posts. The mama is in a hanging box about 12 ft high in a blue oak south of the Dry Creek bridge on the west side of the highway. Last year, we sent a Tree Swallow from our trail up to Allison's to nest. Now we're even. Hatch Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 20:40:54 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Hatch and all, In order to test whether fledglings from 2-hole mansions are better able to survive the post-fledge stage, I will begin banding them this year. I will be monitoring an established golf course trail of the standard 1-hole boxes as a comparison. This 1-holed hanging golf course trail is contiguous to my 2-hole mansion trail. After trying to get *any* form of permit/permitee/subpermitee license to band my own birds (unsuccessful), I finally found a fellow who has agreed to make the lengthy drive to my trail to band the 230 or so nestlings which hatch in 2-hole mansions. The golf course trail will *not* be banded so I will be able to see at a glance whether there is a higher ratio of future banded adult birds taking over available 1-hole standard boxes on the golf course as opposed to unbanded birds being able to move in and take over the 2-holed trail. (No one else in the area bands their bluebirds.) But . . . now I'm told there is a shortage of bands and maybe only 100 or so bands will be available to me. I need at least 230. Hatch and other banders, do you have any resources to help secure sufficient bands for my 2-hole nestlings? Hatch Graham wrote: Hi Banders, Doris & Bill Allison, & List: Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 12:25:56 -0400 Hi Violett: How about color-banding your birds? Year-by-year color sequences makes ID really easy; binocs are all you need; don't need to recapture. Dot; eastern MAss Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 13:09:54 -0400 Hi Violett, I think perhaps one has to color-band in conjunction with F&W aluminum bands; need the first to do the second. --It's all out of Pawtuxent. Sorry about that. Haven't been around banders for 30 years. Memory's fading. Dot Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 07:25:11 -0600 Just in case you are interested in NW Montana bluebird activities........here is an early report of activities.
Erv Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 20:22:45 -0400 I thought you might find it interesting to know about an "old friend" of mine. She's a female Eastern Bluebird with band no. 154124504. Her breeding territory is in a field down the street from my house. I originally banded her as an adult in April 1999. She successfully raised two broods and fledged 7 young that year. I recaptured her in 2000 when she again raised two broods and fledged 8 young. I've recaptured her again this year, which makes this her third year of breeding on that territory. She's currently incubating 5 eggs, which are due to hatch May 10-12. Let's hope all goes well for her this year! Brenda... Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 06:58:57 -0500 Keith (especially), I use my radio remote trap (a simple toy strapped to the front of the nestbox with a bungee cord) to trap and recapture adult BLUEBIRDS (never another species) and I can read the band without a magnifying glass. Those of you who recapture a banded bird (bluebird or other), look at the band -- each should have a 4 digit number over a 5 digit number (I.e. - 1234 over 56789). The top number is registered as the PREFIX; the bottom number as the SUFFIX. Some real old bands had a two or three digit PREFIX, but birds carrying those will most likely be dead. If you should recapture a banded bird (dead or alive) call the banding lab (1-800-327-BAND) and someone will take your info; find the bander and send you and the bander a notice of the location of the found bird. Hope this helps. Erv Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 18:50:30 -0600 A lad working toward his doctorate is helping here with my old data as well as new data. We are in the preliminary processes of setting procedures to analyze the data. All of which you ask is being done. It may take a couple of days. I'll send you the raw data, the best I can, and hopefully you will realize that is just what it is at this stage -- RAW DATA. Many of the banded chicks fail to survive, let alone return to the hatching areas, but I do get fair returns -- the best being from banded adults, who tend to return to the areas where successful hatches occurred. I've only banded a few over 10,000 bluebirds, over a 7 year period -- 2001 being the 8th year; so I really haven't collected, nor analyzed, enough data to draw any clear-cut conclusions. Hopefully, you will realize that. OK? Maybe you will be so kind as to share with me your conclusions. Erv ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Springer" springer"at"alltel.net Hi Erv, Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 17:08:42 EDT We have a nesting pair of EABLs. The female is still incubating eggs - about 6 days to go. First time ever for us to have bluebirds nesting. We are feeding them mealworms and really enjoying watching their behaviors. Today while watching them at the mealworm feeder, I noticed that the female has a band on her right leg. I don't want to disturb her in any way, but I know people are trying to track the birds. Any suggestions for getting the number off her band? Thanks. Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 10:38:15 -0500 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas I was hoping one of the bird banders would really JUMP on this topic but they are probably busy banding:-) Since your "nesting" female has a band on her leg I would wait until the female has young in the box and you can trap her either with a Huber insert trap or get up early just before dawn and gently open the box and pick her up off of the young and with someone holding a flash light, read and record the band numbers. With the Huber trap, placing the trap in the box about two hours after sunrise will allow the young to be fed and offer the least amount of disturbance. If you don't get another response and as this is your second request type the third in all capital letters and I will get a bird bander to respond to you! ANYONE NOT GETTING THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED NEED TO REPOST THEIR QUESTIONS! Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 10:42:27 -0500 This came to me instead of going directly to the list. This would be a good post to print out and file for when we do find a banded bird. KK ----- Original Message ----- If you are not a bander, the following info may not be of very much interest. I band around 2,000 bluebirds (chicks and adults) each year and recapture from 130 to 155 or so each year. These recaptures migrate from this area in late October or early November and return around Feb. 15-Mar. 1. Just received notice that one of my banded bluebirds was recaptured nesting in Green Valley, California. What a thrill! My point is that bluebirds travel several thousands of miles each fall and return to the same nestbox or nearby each spring. How, I don't know, but they do. Very interesting. Banding is the only sure way I know to determine whether or not the bird returning to a nestbox is the same bird as prior years. Hope this helps. ----- Original Message ----- Keith (especially), Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 21:14:04 -0800 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. He fledged during May 2001 and I found him in the box during a routine
after-season check on September 15, 2001. Because it was a recent death (no
decay, still pliable) with no trauma, I was able to have a vet take a look at
him--no parasites, no clues to death other than the bird was thin. From: "Ervin Davis" ervdavis"at"blackfoot.net In case anyone is interested in bluebird bandings, thought I'd let you know that as of today, I have 84 bluebird recaptures (all adults, obviously) and one female was banded as a chick in 1996, making her a 6 year-old. Much fun capturing the banded returns. Erv NW Montana From: "Ervin Davis" ervdavis"at"blackfoot.net Here's an update on recaptures: Date: Sat, 06 Jul 2002 13:35:39 -0400 Some, but not all, of you Bluebird-L folks know that I band Eastern Bluebirds. Last year, I reported that I had a female that was back for her third breeding season. I anxiously awaited her return this spring to see if she would be back for a fourth. Well, a female DID return to that nestbox, but I was unable to recapture her because her first two nestings (in the same box) failed. FINALLY, she's having a successful nesting so far and is feeding three young. I recaptured her today and......her band number is 154124504. It's her!! She's back!! Brenda... Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 15:32:43 -0400 On 8/4/02 1:52 PM, Linda Violett wrote: Yesterday I discovered nestbox-raised western bluebirds raising chicks in an unlikely urban tree located in a narrow electrical easement between two rows of backyards next to a busy 4-land boulevard. AND electrical wires and, thus, gave nestbox-raised newlyweds a bare-bones homes in a "natural" site even though it is right in the middle of suburbia, between rows of backyards next to a busy 4-lane boulevard. I must point out that the purpose of banding birds is to be able to identify them as individuals. Correct me if I'm wrong, Linda, but the banded male that is nesting in the natural cavity probably was *not* captured to check its band number. It is, therefore, an assumption that the bluebird was "nestbox-raised." Without checking its band number, there is no way to know for sure if that bird was banded as a chick or as an adult, or if it was banded last year or 2 years ago, or if it was banded at that location or 50 miles away. Brenda ...Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 00:54:28 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Brenda, your purpose of banding might be to identify individual birds. My purpose of banding during 2001 was to see trends. No banded birds were spotted on my trail before last year's banding, and no one else in the surrounding area has banded their bluebirds. The banded birds seen this year on my trail are almost certainly: * Nestlings banded on my trail last year (2001) * And fledged from nestboxes Yes, there is the possibility that the banded birds were not raised in nestboxes--but what are the chances of having the far-fetched combination of bluebirds raised in natural cavities showing up in the middle of my city trail with bands on their legs? Scientific tools, human logic and probabilities are each valuable in their own right . . . but even greater when used together. ...Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 20:06:26 -0400 On 8/5/02 3:54 AM, Linda Violett wrote: Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. I band Eastern Bluebirds for a Dispersal Study, to attempt to recapture adults that were banded as chicks to see how far from their natal site they've traveled. My personal furthest was a female whose first breeding attempt was approximately 80 miles from her natal site. Others have had birds travel further. My purpose of banding during 2001 was to see trends. I guess I don't understand the trends you're trying to observe, how banding will help you see trends, and how you can see any trend from one year's data. The banded birds seen this year on my trail are almost certainly: That's my point. "Almost certainly" doesn't make it a fact. Yes, there is the possibility that the banded birds were not raised in I'm not saying "the banded birds were not raised in nestboxes." I do agree that if that banded adult was banded as a chick, then it was most likely fledged from a nestbox. But that banded adult could have been banded as an *adult*, and you can't be 100% positive without checking the band number. Brenda ...From: "PooleBrown" Catbird"at"cfl.rr.com We recently installed blue bird boxes in Wekiwa Springs State Park, FL near an area where we have a banding project studying the effects of forest restoration on bird populations. Not sure we want to get into banding bluebirds. Would like some feed back from those that do band nestling bluebirds and why they band. Richard Poole From: "paul kilduff" plkldf"at"hotmail.co Paul Kilduff Our naturalist at Oregon Ridge Park has asked me to get in touch with a bander who wants to band the baby blues in our boxes. I don't know if I have veto power over this request or not. I've checked the archives (BTW, the search feature doesn't seem to be working) and found quite a bit of information. What doesn't seem to be covered is the danger. Several years ago on our trail some babies were banded and we had a lot of mortality. Has this happened to anyone else? Any other comments about what I should ask or whether I should say, "thanks but no thanks" to the bander? best, Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 04:53:50 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, well, last Sunday, I was down in Carroll county OHIO helping a
subbander and bird-buddy, Janice, to check her trail and possibly band birds. I
would sneek upon the boxes, to catch the birds inside. Well, one was a tree
swallow from HOSP kill, banded last yr as a nestling, next was a bluebird that
she had banded as a nestling last yr and then I caught a bluebird that she had
banded as a nestling in 1998 as an a adult, so she is at least 5yr. This was
wonderful for me, for I had never found any bird banded. We also saw some
killdeer and her fledgings running around......what a great sight....makes me
wonder why so many people spend so much time in front of the TV. Darrell in N.E.
Ohio Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 09:13:21 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 09:56:54 -0700 I'm not sure what the problem has been with banding in the past, but I have been a bander for about 50 years and banding chicks in nestboxes is about the safest scientific effort I know of. I, and my subpermittees, band over 2000 young birds and a number of adults in nestboxes yearly and have been doing so for over 5 years. There are major banding programs in Oregon, Calgary, AB, Montana, New York and elsewhere. The only species with which I am familiar that may not accept banding is the adult Ash-throated Flycatcher -- the hens are sometimes inclined to abandon their nest if they are banded in the first week of incubation. Banding their chicks is no problem.Certain protocols should be followed, the same as in monitoring. Care needs to be taken not to disturb the chicks between 14 and 20 days to avoid premature exiting of the box. With flycatchers, who fledge earlier, banding should be done around 10 days of age.Most adult hens can be removed from the eggs while incubating during the second week with no problem. I banded 3 adult Western Bluebird hens just yesterday, replaced them carefully on their eggs, held my hand over the hole to keep it dark as I closed the door, and walked away. None of the three even tried to escape. Occasionally, they will fly out right away but returned in 5 to 10 minutes. Titmice, nuthatches, chickadees also stick tight to the eggs. Swallows are more likely to leave immediately but usually are back in about 30 seconds if you leave the vicinity. We often recapture the hens year after year on the same nest. I have found
winter-killed males that died in the nestbox where they were born as much as 3
years after banding. Banding does NOT cause the birds to leave their homes. I
can only imagine that a novice bander tried to band birds that were too old if
the reports you received are accurate.There is one other possibility: I am often
called my nestbox monitors to band their birds. Sometimes my schedule does not
allow me to come when the birds are in their second week. If the monitor has
estimated the hatching date correctly, I will attempt to band the chicks when
they are 19 to 21 days old. When I do, the result is that they often decide it's
time to fly. It's quite a thrill to send them off on By all means encourage the banding of the birds on your trail. Your knowledge
of their habits will be increased and the interpretation opportunities in
your park enhanced. From: "Karen Harder" karenh"at"praxisworks.org Paul-- I don't have any of the credentials, and I don't have a lengthy history of experience to draw on. I just want to add, for what it's worth, that I've had the tremendous joy and privilege for the last few years of working with/under a Master Bander here in southern Maine. She works primarily with mist nets but, among her other banding activities, she bands EABL nestlings. When she was scheduling her time to come here and band mine last year, she insisted that if I couldn't be absolutely precise about their age, she wouldn't even consider coming, for fear of causing more harm than good. My intuition tells me that if her ethical and welfare-of-the-bird-first standard and genuine love for the birds are representative of your bander (as I hope they are of *all* banders, though I feel "mine" is exceptional), the banding would be stopped at the first sign of trouble. Karen Harder -- Cape Porpoise, Maine From: "Lawrence Herbert" lherbert"at"4state.co With experience banding the nestlings can be done with little stress to the
birds. I always banded EABL nestlings at day 9 to 12 for two reasons: Chances are that if you or your bander can't tell how many days old they are then you have no business - or permission - to either handle or band them. Mist netting does increase the stress level for the captured birds. Again, there is no substitute for experience. Good birding, Larry H. Joplin MO. (Permit # 21117). Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 1:45 AM From: XXX, Rebecca http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/call800.htm How to Report a Federal Bird Band in North America If you are not sure of what kind of band you have found, Click Here . You can submit an electronic report. Click here to electronically report a metal band with or without a color marker. If
you cannot submit your report via this website, you may call toll-free
to 1-800-327-BAND (2263) from anywhere
in Canada, the United States and most parts of the Caribbean. The
operator will need to know the band number, how, when and where the bird
or band was found. Please do not use this number to call
us about other matters. Rebecca
J. From: Jennabirds"at"aol.com Two summers ago, I had a female bluebird banded in my front yard while nesting. She nested a second time in the same nesting box and hung around the yard until the following February. I haven't seen her since. She may still be around nesting on my bluebird trail, but I haven't been able to individually study each breeding female with binoculars to see. I do know that she did not come back this winter to feed like she did last winter. This spring I am going to try and work with a master bird bander and band bluebirds in Harford County Maryland. I would really like to find out more information about where bluebirds go during the different seasons. Thanks. David A. Magness Whiteford MD Harford County MD From: Simon [mailto:simon"at"bowecho.com] Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 12:37 PM Subject: banding babies Does anyone here band their babies? I have bands from my former life as a pigeon racer… I wonder if I could put those bands on them just to have some identification. What do you think? They'll be hatching soon, so if I am going to do this, I have to do it soon.... From: Simon [mailto:simon"at"bowecho.com] I'm going to reply to my own e-mail because several people wrote me and shared some important information with me. First, apparently you have to have a permit to band wild birds. One person said “Federal” one said state. In Michigan that would be from the state DNR <department of natural resources> I am assuming). I am going to look up the regs and find out. Every state is different, but if the person who told me it is a federal not a state reg, I'll post that too. Secondly, handling or banding wild animals might be illegal period. I banded my racing pigeons, but the racing pigeons were my PROPERTY, the bluebirds are wild animals. I will call the DNR and find out about getting the permit, because I would like to keep track of “my” babies, but that may not happen. I'm sure whoever allows the banding puts the priority on the birds' safety and health, and banding might be considered to be stressful. As I'm not a university or a scientist or vet studying them, I think I might not get the permit. Dunno And lastly, the bands are different. Pigeon bands have a number on them, and when you buy bands, they are registered to you with a racing pigeon organization. So those bands that I lost in a drawer somewhere are still registered to me. If I put one on a pigeon today, and he was found lost somewhere, calling the Pigeon club would provide the finder with my name and address. The pigeon bands that I have bought in the past 10-15 years were plastic, I don't know what the bands are that the BBs have. Banding pigeons is done as soon as they are hatched… within a day or two, because the band slips over the foot. After a couple of days, the foot is too big to get a band over. Anyway, thanks everyone for the info, and I wanted to catch up anyone who was thinking of asking this question.
From: Shane&Emily Marcotte [mailto:marco50"at"bellsouth.net] ... By the way when people band BBs how do they get the bird to do it? Trap them and stress them out?I would never subject a poor little bird like that to a trapping!Perhaps they whistle to them and they jump in their hand to be banded!!:) Shane Marcotte Watson Louisiana LBBS Member From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] Well, Shane, I am certainly no authority on banding birds, but no they don't jump in your hand. I think they band them from around age 6 or 7 days up to day 12. To check banded birds, they have some way to trap them in the nestbox.... Evelyn From: ke4fej1 [mailto:ke4fej1"at"email.msn.com] Hi Shane and All, Only just getting into the banding part.... babies from what I hear/read should be banded from 9-12 days. Does it stress them... We have found...yes... I too do not like that part, but if it helps find an answer to where BBs travel then others will not have to do it later...so it is ok. Down here in FL little at all has been done with BBs so this will be all new information. I hope that one day you will look with binoculars for some of our FL BBs up your way! One nest the parents were not happy...and next time to monitor they were not friendly again to the Monitor. Hmmm, are we reading too much into it. I don't think so... I'd be put out if my kids had a silver band put on them too. That is why... I think banding should be done only when it is going to make a difference. I think in our case it will. If Maryland does not think so they will not give me a Permit. I have two Monitors that used to be banders. I fo hopr to reinstate one of them...that would be great!...... I also have a Dr. going to work with me a little later to help me be approved to band. I only want to band BB babies...with the main idea to follow where they travel. I hope to have a Sub permit bander in the future to do a study on one or two families year after year after year and follow their History. There is a slight possibility to band adults... only after some years..and in the Winter time...Why..is to find the migrating Northern birds which come down. That is where you might see one of our color bands. Lots of ifs going on here. It is such a hard things to find someone to train and approve. I want to be ready to start next year off right. Christy Sarasota, FL From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] ...Harry Krueger in north east Texas was the first bander to prove AND report in journals that Eastern Bluebirds DO nest four times a year. Out of 60 + banded pairs of bluebirds one year he had 21% of them successfully do this. Some of them it took five clutches of eggs to fledge four broods. Erv Davis (mountain bluebirds) and Ann Wick in Wisconsin (eastern Bluebirds) are also banding and trapping adults on the nest and can tell how to trap and band a bluebird. For BEST information the correct time to band baby bluebirds is to wait until they are old enough to sex by wing color! This is in the 12-15 day old range depending on condition of the birds feathers! This way when a band is returned they know that it came from a male or female bird. Banders that drive many miles to a nestbox often band young birds that they do NOT know the sex. Experienced banders are so calming to the adults and baby birds that trapping an adult, checking the band and gently opening the hand will often have the bird remain sitting in the open palm of the hand for MANY seconds before they fly off and resume feeding their young! Banding permits for bluebirds are getting really hard to come by since there are SO MANY species of birds in severely declining numbers that we desperately need more information on. Tens of thousands of bluebirds have been banded in just the last twenty years or so...... Harry Krueger started getting serious about birds in his 70's and went back to school in 1986 to take bird courses to allow him to apply for the Master Bander permit. He was one of the last "back yard" type individuals to receive one of the coveted Master Bander permits. So it can be done or you might be able to work under a sub permit from other Master Banders. Color bands: Don't work very well on bluebirds. They are plastic and trying to see the color of the band on the leg of a bird from 200 feet away is practically impossible. Harry trapped every adult every nesting attempt to verify that the same female and male were still together. Red bands in Texas turned pink pretty quick and orange tended to turn yellow!!!! Plastic bands sometimes fell or were pulled off. Since the early 1990's there have been several other banders report the same female has indeed fledged at least one young from four different nesting attempts in Michigan and I believe Virginia. So by taking this data you can "guess" that the gulf coast states with healthy females that 0>20% of the females "Might" be successful at raising four broods in any given year. We have eggs in nests normally from last week in Feb to first week in Sept. on a line from Dallas to Shreveport to Atlanta. Some years you can add three weeks to each end of the season! The further north you go the shorter your season the less likely they will be successful. The further south you go the more time there would be to nest FIVE times. Predator proof poles and nestboxes are essential for you to have the more mature females in the prime of their life to get these nestings! If it is common to lose females on the nest to predators on your trail then you will seldom get four nestings a year. KK From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] I mentioned a few days ago some banded bluebird recoveries in the south from northern bird banders. The bird of Ann Wicks recovered in Texas was injured and taken to a rehabber and later released. They did not record whether it was a male or female! Bryan Shantz and Myrna Pearman working for Union Carbide on Ellis Bird Farm had I believe 7 out of the first 7,000 Mountain Bluebirds they banded recovered outside of Alberta. You can do a search of the banding data and they report about 1 out of 500 banded bluebirds are ever recovered and reported. Irv Davis in Montana has banded thousands and I don't know if he has had a single return of his Mountain bluebirds yet from their southern wintering grounds. Researchers last night were attaching small radio transmitters on bats and as we sit here this morning they can track these forest bats captured in mist nests back to their daytime roost trees...A tiny radio transponder is glued to the back of the bats and chirps out it's location to the researchers for weeks or months till it falls off. We are on the verge of having a way of tracking even the tiniest birds from Canada to Brazil by radio if we invest the money! The department of defense is using tiny cameras mounted on bee sized remote controlled flying "bugs" to observe battlefield conditions in urban areas. A British company is using these tiny cameras to create a whole series of videos where they attach the cameras to heads of birds and even glued on the back of large beetles to record what the birds and "bees" see in their daily travels. The Japanese now use underwater cameras on their fishing nets to chase the last of the big schools of fish and tag and release some of the catch with radios when they lose a school of fish....The radio tagged fish return to their school and the fishing can begin again! Check out the price of a single blue fin tuna on the open market! KK From: Laura Wehrwein [mailto:buggz_co"at"yahoo.com] From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon "at"yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 3:53 PM Subject: EABL banding return Hi everyone, I just got a call about a banded male EABL that had been found dead along a roadside (presumably hit by a car). It was found in Ottawa County on 19 Feb 2005 & reported to the banding lab. Apparently, it's taken this long for the info to get back to the finder (which is not surprising). The bird was originally banded on 13 May 2000 as a sex-unknown nestling in box W18 on the Upjohn This EABL was 5 years old when he got hit by a car. (Songbirds all get Jan 1st as a birthday.) According to the caller, he was in excellent condition (bright healthy plumage, no fault bars in the flight feathers, stuff like that) & so would probably have been breeding this season. He was living 2 counties away (within 75 miles) from the banding location. (Ottawa County borders Lake Michigan & is two counties up & one to the west from Kalamazoo County.) Not that this is necessarily a typical bird, but it gives you an idea of how far your bluebirds might go Torrey Moss From: Snoopy [mailto:snoopy "at"wmis.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 8:14 PM Subject: Re: EABL banding return Wow that is fascinating, Torrey, thank you for sharing that. I live not far from Ottawa county, (next one over for me) so for me with the distance, I "get it" I never realised they could go that far.... it's amazing what they can discover with the banding. Do you know how long the EABL would have lived had he not been hit?? and how many good years of nesting they actually have? From: Kathy [mailto:howbizr "at"gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 10:13 PM Subject: Re: EABL banding return I was wondering, what is the process you go through to be able to band? Unfortunately, the woman who banded in my area moved on to bigger birds (Cooper's hawks) so she probably doesn't have interest in banding bluebirds anymore. I was kind of wondering out of curiosity if I might replace what she did for our community one day. If it's pertinent, I live in the Columbus, Ohio area. Thanks! Kathy From: Maynard Sumner [mailto:m-r-sumner "at"juno.com] I asked some banders if they would come band some of our birds for the Michigan Bluebird Society and they said we would need fifty or more birds in one location before they would come. Maynard Sumner From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon "at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 2:41 PM Subject: answers to EABL banding questions I'm going to try to answer all the questions raised in one Message. Hopefully all 3 of my brain cells will be firing & i'll won't forget anything. :-) It's not easy (anymore) to get a bander's license. Banding is now under the US Geological Service (not Fish & Wildlife, it got moved for some reason). State DNRs also have a permitting process, but once you've been approved by the feds, the state is basically just a rubber stamp. The easiest way to find a bander is a local university or a state banding association. Here in Michigan it's the Michigan Field Ornithologists & Bird Banders. I don't think there's currently anybody at Western Michigan University (right here in town, so it's the local-est to me) who bands. The easiest way to *become* a bander is to find a bander & essentially apprentice first. Of course, nestbox banding is really nothing like banding mist-netted birds or non-passerines (like geese or raptors). & wild EABL live up to 8 years, according to the Birds of N. Am. set. There wasn't any info on if they stay fertile the entire time, but based on birds captured during the breeding season at our MAPS site i'd bet they do. (Our most frequent breeders, Gray Catbirds, can live 8-10 years & are busy nesting -- based on brood patches & cloacal protruberances -- each time they're caught.) I don't know who Maynard asked to band for the Michigan Bluebird Society, but i'm sure a lot of banders have very limited time available. Perhaps the best way to get one to band for your boxes is to develop a project that requires banding & can be written up & submitted to a scientific journal. Or offer them the chance to develop their own project. As an aside, i really enjoy banding, especially during fall migration. I see a lot of birds up close & in hand. Most people never get that chance. If you have the chance to see banding in action, i will guarantee that it will be fun *and* educational. :-) Torrey Moss From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 8:50 PM Subject: Re:1st EABL nest [in response to an email wondering whether birds returning this spring were the same pair that nested there last year.] ... the only sure way to know is if they were banded birds and you These birds probably were NOT mated to one another last year but both of There is actually a web site you can go to that will show where Eastern OH I saw and Osprey today while inspecting a whole plantation of dead pine From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 8:02 AM Subject: 290,000 Eastern Bluebirds banded from 1920>1991 32. Mortality of banded adult Eastern Bluebirds. T. D. Pitts and R. W. Snow. From: Kathy [mailto:howbizr"at"gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 8:39 AM Subject: A story and a reply about banding in Ohio So I'm going to start this with a story, but end it with a correction of misinformation. Yesterday, Scott and I were checking on the large trail. We had just finished, so we were actually just stopping to enjoy the scenery. We got really lucky, and managed to see a beaver, so that was really fortunate! Well, we had been sitting around for a while, and then I looked over and saw people at one of our boxes, and a box with TRES babies in it! I got a little bit worried, and we walked quickly over to question the suspects. Then it dawned on me, one of these invaders just took the nest out of the box! So I think to myself, this woman who was holding the nest must be a) out of her mind (most people are afraid of diseases from birds I think..) or b) she's the long lost "bander" in my area that I thought had lost interest in blues. And low and behold - it was the infamous Darlene Silick! I was so happy, she was so happy, and it was great. So here's why... she was there to check on the trail, because she knew it wasn't being monitored. Not only that, we _were_ monitoring it (by random chance we found it and starting monitoring this year) and she was training a 13 year old and her mother to hopefully get interested in the trail. So now me and Scott may have some new partners in crime, and a great mentor to really help us out! I'm so excited about it all. And for my correction... I dug through lots of emails, and I just can't find it. Somewhere out there, someone inquired from the Columbus-ish area about banding (other than Paula Z), and I told them there wasn't anyone. I was definitely misinformed, so if this person wants to reply to me off-list, I can get him in contact with Darlene. Yay! :) Kathy Haines From: PTom [mailto:ptom"at"austin.rr.com] Kathy Haines posted a story of her excitement over meeting Darlene Sillick at a nestbox near Columbus. I communicated with Darlene, and she sent this response asking if I'd post it to Bluebird-L. From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 6:00 PM Subject: OT fall bird numbers Fall migration banding is winding down. Half the mist nets here at the Kalamazoo Nature Center will be coming down on Halloween. (A good thing, too -- Being out in the field from April thru October gets *very* tiring here at the end! Or maybe i'm just getting old. :-] ) So anyways, here's our numbers thru Oct 15th. 8 Eastern Bluebirds (this is a high number) 100 Black-capped Chickadees Total: 8857 birds of 95 species For those who haven't seen banding in action, the birds are caught in "mist nets", which are very fine nets (that the birds hopefully don't see) set up on poles (in areas we hope the birds will fly thru). Processing consists of putting the right-sized band on the bird, ageing & sexing (if possible), measuring the wing & tail lengths, checking for fat (an indicator of health & readiness to migrate), & weighing. All of this takes just a minute or two, & then the bird is released. All data from all banding stations in the US & Canada are sent to the main lab in Maryland. If anyone is interested, google "Patuxent", which will bring up the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. (They're improving their website so the banding database will eventually be searchable, but i think that's another year or 2 down the road.) Torrey Moss From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 4:14 PM Subject: OT bird banders conference (long) On October 1st, Michigan Field Ornithologists & Bird Banders (MFOBB) held a joint conference with the Inland Bird Banders Association (IBBA) at the Kellogg Biological Station. It was very educational. Here's a short synopsis of the talks given. The Tick Talk (Lyme's disease): The Stopover Length Modeling Talk The KNC Talk The Banding Lab Talk The Ivory-billed Woodpecker Talk ... Next year's IBBA meeting will be in Tennessee. I'm not sure where the next MFOBB meeting will be. Torrey Moss From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 5:56 PM Subject: OT: volunteer hours Hi everybody, In the process of nominating our banding coordinator for an award (all his time -- over 1200 hours last year -- is volunteer), we came up with some neat stats about our banding volunteers. (His hours are not included; the numbers below are the volunteers he has trained & supervised.) 18 volunteers total volunteer hours: 1101 Of the 7 volunteers with over-average hours, 4 were in the 5+ month group & 3 were in the 2-4 month group. We have 2 banding programs operating 5-1/2 months, 1 during the breeding season (1 trail, 3 days a week) that goes from June to August, & 1 during fall migration (3 trails, 7 days a week) from August to early November. This past year we had 7 paid staff & What all this means is that our volunteer base is crucial to our banding program. Some of these people have been volunteering since before i was hired in 1997. (I myself was a volunteer before that, in the Education & then Research departments.) If anybody's thinking about starting a volunteer-based bluebird trail, it is possible. The hardest part, really, is getting organized & getting the first few dedicated volunteers trained. For tips, i'd recommend asking Evelyn Cooper of the Louisianna Bayou Bluebird Society -- They're very committed to having active box monitors as members. (Also, while the coordinator is on a two-month vacation this summer, i'll be handling the 100-box volunteer-based trail at a big local company. I should have lots more insight after by July, if i survive. :-] ) Torrey Wenger From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon"at"yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 11:00 AM Subject: Re: OT: volunteer hours Umm... I made a mistake with the numbers. Not with the actual math, but with putting all the numbers in a row from lowest to highest to figure out the median (it's the midpoint). That's really pathetic. My only excuse is i was doing it at the end of the day. Yeah, & i hadn't had a Coke that afternoon. The late afternoon sun was dazzling my eyes thru the office window. &, uh, the moon was mostly full... :-) Anyways, the median was actually 31.9. Since it's markedly lower than the average (61.2), that means there's a few people with a lot of hours & a bunch of people with not so many. (There were 4 people with less than 10 hours & 1 person over 200, for starters.) I'm sorry for publishing such an obvious (in Torrey Wenger From: Tina Phillips [mailto:cbp6"at"cornell.edu] Torrey, Thanks for the inspiring information you provided about your trail. It made me realize how diverse and dedicated a group this list serves. Your e-mail has encouraged me to develop a database of nest box monitors who are also bird banders. This is a good idea for several reasons. First, I have had a number of researchers asking me to collaborate with local banders. Second, banding permits are becoming increasingly difficult to acquire, but sub permits under master banders are a bit easier. Third, The Birdhouse Network is developing a new data entry system which will accommodate all species of nesting birds, and possibly be able to also capture banding data. Having a handle on banders who also monitor nest boxes will be very helpful for all these reasons. If you or your organization is any way involved with banding birds at any time of year, please e-mail me with the following information: Your name (or name of bander) I appreciate everyone's help with this. Thanks in advance! Sincerely, Tina Phillips From: melissa fox [mailto:meberle2"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 5:14 PM Subject: Bird banding? I was just reading about some places banding birds. I'd love to be able to get involved in doing that......do you have to have a special license? As a kid I wanted to tag wildlife and remember doing a project on it with all the steps involved, even got to talk to a "real" wildlife conservationist! lol How can I find out about bird banding in Ohio? If I get my Bluebird houses set up and established I wouldn't mind recording information for the people who are doing all the research. -Melissa from Columbus From: Jimmy Dodson [mailto:rocks_and_flies"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 5:59 PM Subject: RE: Bird banding? Melissa, et al -- In order to band birds, you have at least have a federal permit from the Bird Banding Lab at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. There are different permits for songbirds, waterfowl, etc. It's not an easy thing to get... you need to have a very specific purpose (i.e. avian research project) in order to receive one. You also have to garner quite a bit of experience before they will issue a master permit (meaning you're in charge). Then, some states also require a state permit. The major permit holders are universities, fed & state agencies, educational facilities, and MAPS stations. My suggestion would be to see if you can find someone in your area who bands, and assist them. You could start with BBL as an initial contact, or the Institute for Bird Populations (the group that conducts the MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program for a station you might be able to volunteer at. It'll take a full season of "getting your feet wet" before you begin to feel fairly comfortable with all of the steps, considerations, and protocols involved. I currently have a sub-permit (under a master bander) for my MAPS station, and hope to have my master permit within the year. If you have any other questions, let me know and we can chat off-list about specific questions. Jimmy Dodson From: rob barron [mailto:rebel1956"at"comcast.net] Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 9:02 PM Subject: RE: Bird banding? ....Carnegie Mellon does some great bird banding at the Powdermill Nature http://www.westol.com/~banding/Pictorial_Highlights_July2004b.htm. Rob Barron From: Jimmy Dodson [mailto:rocks_and_flies"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 1:17 PM Subject: RE: Bird banding? The first few times I removed birds from mist nets I was shaking so hard and my heart was racing so fast it looked like I'd just taken a 40' lead fall while rock climbing. I have big, thick fingers as well, so it took some work to learn how to properly use the various grips and actually hold onto the bird... I might have big fingers but many of the species are way smaller than you think and I initially tended to be too gentle -- which is as bad as being too firm. We teach undergrad wildlife and forestry students banding each summer for NCSU, and I also run a MAPS banding station on one of our research and demonstration forests. They all want to jump right in, but about 90% of them just freeze the first time they touch one b/c they're shocked at how small and "delicate" the birds feel. You quickly find out who is "good" and who needs some work. The hardest hurdle tends to be for people to "visualize" how the bird went into the net... you're just essentially reversing it. Sounds easy, but get a bugger like a Carolina wren or Carolina chickadee who are masters at creating tangles, doing multiple fliips through multiple loops, and then grab the whole mess around their heads with their feet and hang on for dear life... and I've seen grown men and women alike almost cry. Some of the "fun"/neat things... 1. watching someone get bit by a cardinal for the first time, 2. realizing how strong a grackle and sharp-shinned hawk actually are, 3. watching a bobwhite fly so hard it goes through the net, 4. It is a lot of fun, so if you can find someone doing it, by all means see about helping them. They'll start you off slow and there's a lot to learn, but banders always need help and there's never enough. --J Jimmy Dodson From: rob barron [mailto:rebel1956"at"comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 1:47 PM Subject: RE: Bird banding? Great story Jimmy, Shortly before my first mist netting/bird banding lab I had read an article in Science Times by someone reporter doing a story about banding who "broke" Even if you never get comfortable handling the tiny little creatures there is a lot you can contribute volunteering to me a mule, recording data, taking pictures etc. Finding out you caught a 6 year old chickadee or seeing a juvenile cardinal with their "Mohawk" still growing in is priceless. Thanks, From: Pauline Tom [mailto:ptom"at"austin.rr.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 5:58 PM Subject: Re: Bird banding at NABS Convention At the Schaezler Ranch (Bonham field trip option) on Friday during the North American Bluebird Society Convention, April 26 - 30 (San Antonio), bird banding will be demonstrated by Brent Ortego of Texas Parks & Wildlife. Mark Klym of TPWD, co-author of a new book on hummingbirds and the "Hummingbirds of Texas" speaker will be on hand at Schaezler Ranch to assist in hummingbird identification at their hummingbird (and butterfly) garden. Spring migration will be in full swing, so a person birding on this ranch, with multiple water features created by Susan Schaezler, could easily see Local birders will go along with our out-of-town guests to help with "birding." The discount rate at the San Antonio Airport Hilton is valid two more weeks, through March 26th. There's a Continental Airlines discount code on www.NABS2006.com. And, no one needs a rent car because transportation is furnished for all off-site activities. YEEHAW! Pauline Tom From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"a"charter.net] At http://www.birdpop.org/ (the website for the Institute for Bird Populations) it says they have Bet from CT From: Richard Harlow [mailto:raharlow "at"comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 8:15 AM Subject: Re: Sort of OT: Bird banding Bridget, From: Richard Harlow [mailto:raharlow "at"comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 4:11 PM Subject: Re: Sort of OT: Bird banding EXAMPLES: From: rdb2006 "at"verizon.net [mailto:rdb2006 "at"verizon.net] Here's a little more info on what's required to become a licensed bander. http://www.zoosociety.org/Conservation/BWB-ASF/Library/BirdBanding.php http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/whocan.htm (12 Dec. 2000). --rudy |
