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Archived Postings

July 2, 2007 – July 8, 2007

I was once told that when it comes to field work, that no matter how hard the work is or what the conditions are like, if you don’t go out and get that data, nobody else will. The LSLBO is a research and monitoring field station and throughout the summer we work hard to collect data on migratory birds. Fortunately, our field conditions are not terrible. The worst part of this job is dealing with mosquitoes and early mornings. These minor details are easily eliminated with mosquito netting, coffee, and a passion for birds. Since the observatory opened in April, we have been out in the field almost every day banding birds, counting birds, or finding nests. During this past week, we have had a rare break in field activities: we were in between MAPS banding rounds and the Canada warbler nesting season was ending. We took the opportunity to deal with one of the less exciting parts of this job; sitting in the office and verifying the banding data before it is submitted to the banding office. Every year since 1994, the LSLBO has been banding birds during spring migration, fall migration, and the breeding season. Since the station opened in 1994, we have banded over 45,000 birds. So what is the data collected at the LSLBO used for? Some people would argue that we band these birds just so we can hold them and be able to look at them up close. Well, truthfully, we do, but that is what makes us good at our job. The answer is for monitoring, research, and conservation. All of our banding data is submitted to the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) at the end of the season. The CWS and the United States Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory run the North American Banding Program. These two government organizations distribute bands and collect all banding data into a central database. This data is then used on local, national, and international projects to gain a better understanding of the natural history of birds and to help protect them. Some examples of how the data is used includes: mapping migration routes, monitoring population trends, timing the arrival on breeding grounds, estimating survival rates, finding intraspecific geographic variation, observing behaviour, identifying population demographics, gaining longevity records, determining waterfowl hunting quotas, and developing endangered species regulations. Bird banding has been going on for a long time. Records of tagging birds in Europe for identification purposes go back to the 1500’s. The first numbered bands in North America were used to answer scientific questions in the early 1900’s. Since then, over 70 million birds have been banded in North America. Despite the work that has been done over the past century, there are always more questions to answer. New problems also arise. Banding is now being used as part of Avian Flu monitoring, though the LSLBO does not take part in this study. Sometimes it seems that we run a small operation here, but it is all part of the bigger picture, which is exciting.

2010