Bird Banding
(Revised October 2005)
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Bander demonstrating how to hold and band using the one-person technique
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Bird banding is a technique that biologists use to gain insight into life history patterns and population dynamics of birds--information critical for developing sound wildlife management policies. Specifically, information generated from banded birds can be employed to estimate different population parameters such as density, survival, age structure, immigration and emigration rates. Bird banding enables wildlife managers to visually identify individual birds, like the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina;NSO), and associate them with a territory, a productivity level (i.e. mean number of fledgling per year), and a detailed reproductive and movement history. This is especially important in managing NSOs that move around the landscape over time.
In 2002, MRC secured all the necessary permits to initiate a banding program on its property to facilitate recovery and adaptive management of the NSO. Since then, MRC biologists have successfully captured, banded, and released 160 NSOs on its forestlands. As the banding program continues, annual banding efforts will be primarily focused on fledglings because most of the adult population will already have been banded. Furthermore, in conjunction with this banding program, MRC biologists are looking to collaborate with other researchers in northern California to monitor the prevalence of the West Nile virus in the NSO population.
Obtaining authorization to band a threatened species involves obtaining a bird banding permit from the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) in Patuxent, Maryland; a Federal Recovery Permit from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and a Scientific Collecting Permit from the California Department of Fish and Game. Banding activities are conducted by experienced biologists using proven capture techniques. The health and well-being of the owl is paramount when a decision to band is made.
Banding is completed, owl is ready for release.
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Banding is completed, owl is ready for release.
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Banding tools from left to right: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service bands, pliers, color bands(for resighting birds),
rivet tool, calipers, and mass scale
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