Birds!
Had a class trip today to a Conservation Park to band birds! Aside from the getting up at 6am, the whole trip was awesome!!
At this park they had a bunch of these really long badminton net-sorta things which birds get caught in. You collect the birds from these nets and put each on in a little bag and bring it back to the banding station to do measurements, IDing etc.
here's all the things you need to do for each bird:
ID the species: this is obvious
determine the age and gender: this is done by observing the plumage
Band it: basically, you put a tiny bangle on its leg using these special pliers. I was kind of scared that I would break their little legs but thankfully that never happened. Each bangle has a nine digit number on it as a unique identifier
Also need to take some measurements:
Wing length: you put this special wing-ruler beneath its wing to measure it (think like those things at the shoe store that measure your feet, how you press the heel of your foot against the end
Muscle content: you blow on his belly to ruffle his feathers and see underneath. You give a number rating: 1 means scrawny, 2 means average, and 3 means BULGING MUSCLES (as bulging as muscles can be on a little bird)
Fat content: blow on his chest, because that's where birds keep their fat (compared to the human beer gut). Also give this a rating out of three
Mass: you stuff the bird headfirst into a little cup and weigh it
after you've written all this down on a card, you can set the bird free. I did my first one all dramatic-like as you would see in a movie.
If the bird already has a band: you read the number on his band and find his card, and take all the measurements again to see how he's doing compared to last time he was caught.
Now, lemme tell you about the different birds I banded
American Goldfinch: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Carduelis-tristis-002.jpg
he was quite docile, good for my first one. He weighed only 13.6 grams
Brown-Headed Cowbird: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Malecowbird.jpg
this guy was an asshole! He kept digging his talons into my fingers and biting at me too! These species are assholes in general, actually. They are considered "brood parasites" because they lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and trick the other species into raising their young. I forget how much he weighed but he was a lot bigger
Ruby-Crested Kinglet: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Regulus_calendula1.jpg
the one I had was female, so she didn't have the crest on her head. I thought the goldfinch was small until I handled this one; it weighed only 6 grams!
All in all, it was a fun little daytrip. In the fall, we go up there for a whole weekend and get to do some hardcore banding. Actually, I'm applying for a birdbanding internship next summer... I'd be doing this for three months straight =P
BIRD NERD! D:
Take care~
At this park they had a bunch of these really long badminton net-sorta things which birds get caught in. You collect the birds from these nets and put each on in a little bag and bring it back to the banding station to do measurements, IDing etc.
here's all the things you need to do for each bird:
ID the species: this is obvious
determine the age and gender: this is done by observing the plumage
Band it: basically, you put a tiny bangle on its leg using these special pliers. I was kind of scared that I would break their little legs but thankfully that never happened. Each bangle has a nine digit number on it as a unique identifier
Also need to take some measurements:
Wing length: you put this special wing-ruler beneath its wing to measure it (think like those things at the shoe store that measure your feet, how you press the heel of your foot against the end
Muscle content: you blow on his belly to ruffle his feathers and see underneath. You give a number rating: 1 means scrawny, 2 means average, and 3 means BULGING MUSCLES (as bulging as muscles can be on a little bird)
Fat content: blow on his chest, because that's where birds keep their fat (compared to the human beer gut). Also give this a rating out of three
Mass: you stuff the bird headfirst into a little cup and weigh it
after you've written all this down on a card, you can set the bird free. I did my first one all dramatic-like as you would see in a movie.
If the bird already has a band: you read the number on his band and find his card, and take all the measurements again to see how he's doing compared to last time he was caught.
Now, lemme tell you about the different birds I banded
American Goldfinch: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Carduelis-tristis-002.jpg
he was quite docile, good for my first one. He weighed only 13.6 grams
Brown-Headed Cowbird: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Malecowbird.jpg
this guy was an asshole! He kept digging his talons into my fingers and biting at me too! These species are assholes in general, actually. They are considered "brood parasites" because they lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and trick the other species into raising their young. I forget how much he weighed but he was a lot bigger
Ruby-Crested Kinglet: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Regulus_calendula1.jpg
the one I had was female, so she didn't have the crest on her head. I thought the goldfinch was small until I handled this one; it weighed only 6 grams!
All in all, it was a fun little daytrip. In the fall, we go up there for a whole weekend and get to do some hardcore banding. Actually, I'm applying for a birdbanding internship next summer... I'd be doing this for three months straight =P
BIRD NERD! D:
Take care~