BIRD BANDING

We went to a bird banding at Seven Islands State Birding Park and saw two, new, very cool birds. Here is all the equipment they use there.

They use these mist nests to catch birds. They don't get tangled up, instead it has pockets that they fly into. Here they are checking the nets.

Here they are taking a Eastern Phoebe out of a net.

To band the birds, they use lots of special equipment, including: pliers, small aluminum bands, a scale, lots of different kinds of rulers and field guides and lots other stuff. Here they are banding a Yellow Warbler.

 They blow on a birds belly area to look for fat and a brood patch, a bare spot on a nesting female to help keep her eggs warm.

 They weigh them on this type of scale in film canisters or these little bags.

 There are two different methods of holding this size of bird, one, the bander's grip or, two, the photographers grip, as shown below.

They keep records of everything about the birds they catch.

They have to take down the nets after-words, or else birds might get caught and there will be no one to take them out.

In the end,we all even got to release a bird.

Post by Ethan