bird banding

last weekend (3/19-3/21) i attended a beginners bird banding class at audubon's starr ranch bird observatory in orange county. starr ranch is 4000 acres of largely untouched open space, flanked by 5000 acres of caspers regional park to the south, over one-hundred thousand acres of the cleveland national forest to the north and east, and the 1000 acre dove canyon housing development to the west. such a large track of wild space makes for an excellent place to observe nature, and the area is home to many species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals (including numerous mountain lions).

the two-day bird banding clinic consisted of several parts. First, was mist net handling, where we were shown proper set up, maintenance, and take down of our nets. second, was bird extraction, which consisted of "triage" - or assessing which birds are in the most vulnerable positions and extracting them accordingly. this was followed by different extraction techniques for removing entangled birds from the netting ("feet first", and "body pluck"). then came the actual practice of banding - which included bird handling (we learned two basic grips for passerines, the "bander’s grip", and the "photographer's grip"), ageing (by examining molt), determining sex and breeding status (by examining plumage, and looking for cloacal protuberances in males, and brood patches in females - both sexually determinant signs of breeding), measuring (weight, primary feather length, etc...), and choosing and placing the leg band properly. finally, we learned how to watch for signs that a birds is over-stressed.

in the afternoon, when banding had stopped, we spent time in the classroom learning about bird topology, molt, banding "dos and don'ts", bird first aid, and several other important bird related topics.

check out some pics from my weekend of bird banding below:

an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER caught in a mist net:


extraction of a COMMON YELLOW-THROAT:


yours truly banding a HOUSE WREN:


fully processed HOUSE WREN in the "bander’s grip" (notice the band on the right leg?):


HERMIT THRUSH in the "photographer’s grip" (used for photo-documentation of birds):


while there, participants were also able to witness the banding of a brood of four BARN OWLETTES. these birds were totally against being banded, and fought their captors viciously. the man pictured below had his hand mauled pretty badly a short time after this picture was taken. the bands used for these birds are industrial strength, and have a locking mechanism so the birds don't pry them off. our little passerine bands needed only to be crimped.

angry BARN OWLETTE:


all in all it was a great way to spend a weekend. i learned a great deal more about birds by actually handling them, then i would by just looking at them through bino's. future volunteer banding gigs will help take my understanding of birds, and my birding, to a whole new level.