Excessive tagging and tracking?

[Rookie Roy]

I understand and appreciate the benifit of tagging and tracking endangeted birds. I watched this flamingo for a long time today. Several times it tried to remove the tag and radio! For those who understand these devices please convince me that this is not excessive!

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Icarus]

If it's put on properly, they get used to it. Just like you or me with jewelry, they mess with it occasionally, but I don't think this bird has had this on very long, a week maybe? Think looks like transmitter is solar powered so will give data directly up to a satellite, so they can track this bird hourly if they want to. Since these birds are so far out of range, it'll be interesting where they go next. It may be somewhat annoying for the bird and positively maddening for photogs, but valuable.

 

[Rassie]

This tagging and banding of birds is one of my pet peeves, and I have ranted about it before.
1) The birds are traumatized every time they are captured and tagged.
2) Birds occasionally get injured or killed in the process of capturing and tagging.
3) The tags are unsightly, and I don't like my photographs to be spoiled by tags on legs and wings. Selfish, I know, but no more selfish than the guy who puts the tag on the bird in the first place.

In one of the Whatsapp groups that I'm a member of, someone once asked members to list their hobbies. Someone was quick to list his hobby as bird banding, and right there is my problem. How many birds has this individual traumatized, injured or killed in the process of exercising his hobby? My hobby is wildlife photography, and I do it just as often as I can manage, with no injury or trauma to the animals. If this individual exercises his hobby as eagerly as I do mine, I feel sorry for the birds that are captured by him all the time. I've seen birds with three or four bands on their legs, which means that bird had likely been captured many times over by hobbyists, many of whom I suspect couldn't care less about studying the data gathered by banding. I suspect for those folks it's more about how many birds he/she can band or tag. Bragging rights?

I know many folks will disagree with me, so feel free to make your case here and prove to me that I'm entirely wrong. I get the fact that we learn about birds by banding them, and that this knowledge helps us humans plan for their conservation and protection, so I'm not completely blind to the benefits. My question is this: How many bands or tags on a bird are too many? I can't believe that the people who put second, third or fourth bands on a bird can have compassion or empathy for the bird, and that's when I seriously start questioning their motives for doing what they do. The flamingo above is a case in point. That darn radio transmitter is equivalent to an electronic ankle bracelet on a felon.

 

[IainD]

This tagging and banding of birds is one of my pet peeves, and I have ranted about it before.
1) The birds are traumatized every time they are captured and tagged.
2) Birds occasionally get injured or killed in the process of capturing and tagging.
3) The tags are unsightly, and I don't like my photographs to be spoiled by tags on legs and wings. Selfish, I know, but no more selfish than the guy who puts the tag on the bird in the first place.

In one of the Whatsapp groups that I'm a member of, someone once asked members to list their hobbies. Someone was quick to list his hobby as bird banding, and right there is my problem. How many birds has this individual traumatized, injured or killed in the process of exercising his hobby? My hobby is wildlife photography, and I do it just as often as I can manage, with no injury or trauma to the animals. If this individual exercises his hobby as eagerly as I do mine, I feel sorry for the birds that are captured by him all the time. I've seen birds with three or four bands on their legs, which means that bird had likely been captured many times over by hobbyists, many of whom I suspect couldn't care less about studying the data gathered by banding. I suspect for those folks it's more about how many birds he/she can band or tag. Bragging rights?

I know many folks will disagree with me, so feel free to make your case here and prove to me that I'm entirely wrong. I get the fact that we learn about birds by banding them, and that this knowledge helps us humans plan for their conservation and protection, so I'm not completely blind to the benefits. My question is this: How many bands or tags on a bird are too many? I can't believe that the people who put second, third or fourth bands on a bird can have compassion or empathy for the bird, and that's when I seriously start questioning their motives for doing what they do. The flamingo above is a case in point. That darn radio transmitter is equivalent to an electronic ankle bracelet on a felon.

I agree with you! There was a recent experiment here in Australia where a researcher applied tracking “backpacks” to our magpies. Ours are a bit different. Larger and quite powerful than European ones.
The packs were webbing and could only be removed with a magnetic key. The devices were tracked and found to be all together about 100 metres from the study site, and all detached from the birds!
There was one male magpie who was able to get the sharp edge of his beak against the webbing and slice it off. Just 2mm of space. The birds were finding this creature and he was releasing them. The study was stopped, but deemed to have discovered altruism in a bird species.
My point is that the magpies clearly didn’t want the tracker. And I think we might be overly interfering

 

[Lance B]

I agree with you! There was a recent experiment here in Australia where a researcher applied tracking “backpacks” to our magpies. Ours are a bit different. Larger and quite powerful than European ones.
The packs were webbing and could only be removed with a magnetic key. The devices were tracked and found to be all together about 100 metres from the study site, and all detached from the birds!
There was one male magpie who was able to get the sharp edge of his beak against the webbing and slice it off. Just 2mm of space. The birds were finding this creature and he was releasing them. The study was stopped, but deemed to have discovered altruism in a bird species.
My point is that the magpies clearly didn’t want the tracker. And I think we might be overly interfering

Love it, Iain! We have a pair of local Magpies and they are great birds. Very intelligent and they bring their fledglings each year to greet us.

 

[IainD]

Love it, Iain! We have a pair of local Magpies and they are great birds. Very intelligent and they bring their fledglings each year to greet us.

They are lovely! If I weed our garden during spring, there is a mother who brings her chick, and they stand a metre or two away and run in and eat insects I disturb! They almost touch me sometimes. The father is a bit more wary, and stays a few metres away!

 

[jeffnles1]

Steering away from old Peter Sellers movies and back on track to the topic posted...
My wife and I were walking along a trail with some folks who had mist nets set up in a local park and were tagging birds that day. I was going to capture some photos of them in action to give to the group. At the second stop, a song sparrow was in the net, unfortunately, the person removing it from the net broke the bird's wing. SNAP! Poor bird had to be destroyed. At least song sparrows are one of the most common native species around here. Yes, stuff happens I understand that. However, what was the hypothesis they were trying to validate or disprove? Was the experiment worth the cost of a seat bird? I don't know and I'm honestly not sure the people who were there did either. Needless to say, I did not end up keeping any of the very few photos I shot. It wasn't a commissioned shoot or anything, we just happened upon them while out taking photos.

I had an ornithologist griping because photographers were standing too close to an eagle nest. Mind you I know the spot and the pull out is about 80 yards from the nest with a river between them and the nest. Well, a couple weeks later, this same fellow posted a slew of photos of his team banding the eaglets from this very same nest.

A group nets and tags Saw Whet Owls every year at a local preserve. What are they trying to learn? Migration patterns (they come through here every year).

Now, I am not a Luddite, I'm all for science. Wile not a biological or natural science, I do have a degree in Computer Science. I like technology and made a living with it for 36 years. With that said; you tell me, what is more stressful for the eagles, 6 or 7 people standing 80 yards across a river with cameras, or a dozen people setting up tables, scales and other science equipment and one of them climbing up the tree and taking babies out of the nest to band, draw blood and gather info? I think watching the babies removed from the nest is much more stressful.

My point is not that all banding is bad. My points are:
1) if you're doing it for the science, don't be a hypocrite thinking what you do isn't stressful for the birds because it is.
2) if you're doing it for the science, understand your banding experiments are far more impactful than a person with a camera walking along a path capturing photos.
3) if you're doing it for the science, be able to clearly articulate what you hope to learn. Basic scientific method stuff.(Observe/question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analyze, Report Conclusions). Be able to rattle off the hypothesis at a moment's notice. Don't just say it is for science. If it is for science, experiment is a middle step, so what is your observation, research and hypothesis?

Sorry for my rant. Maybe I'd be better off watching old Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies.
Jeff

 

[bleirer]

I guess i assumed such things were regulated similar to fishing and hunting licenses and so on. Are there rules? It would seem public lands would have policies and private property would have laws re animal cruelty.

 

[Ibrahim]

Steering away from old Peter Sellers movies and back on track to the topic posted...
My wife and I were walking along a trail with some folks who had mist nets set up in a local park and were tagging birds that day. I was going to capture some photos of them in action to give to the group. At the second stop, a song sparrow was in the net, unfortunately, the person removing it from the net broke the bird's wing. SNAP! Poor bird had to be destroyed. At least song sparrows are one of the most common native species around here. Yes, stuff happens I understand that. However, what was the hypothesis they were trying to validate or disprove? Was the experiment worth the cost of a seat bird? I don't know and I'm honestly not sure the people who were there did either. Needless to say, I did not end up keeping any of the very few photos I shot. It wasn't a commissioned shoot or anything, we just happened upon them while out taking photos.

I had an ornithologist griping because photographers were standing too close to an eagle nest. Mind you I know the spot and the pull out is about 80 yards from the nest with a river between them and the nest. Well, a couple weeks later, this same fellow posted a slew of photos of his team banding the eaglets from this very same nest.

A group nets and tags Saw Whet Owls every year at a local preserve. What are they trying to learn? Migration patterns (they come through here every year).

Now, I am not a Luddite, I'm all for science. Wile not a biological or natural science, I do have a degree in Computer Science. I like technology and made a living with it for 36 years. With that said; you tell me, what is more stressful for the eagles, 6 or 7 people standing 80 yards across a river with cameras, or a dozen people setting up tables, scales and other science equipment and one of them climbing up the tree and taking babies out of the nest to band, draw blood and gather info? I think watching the babies removed from the nest is much more stressful.

My point is not that all banding is bad. My points are:
1) if you're doing it for the science, don't be a hypocrite thinking what you do isn't stressful for the birds because it is.
2) if you're doing it for the science, understand your banding experiments are far more impactful than a person with a camera walking along a path capturing photos.
3) if you're doing it for the science, be able to clearly articulate what you hope to learn. Basic scientific method stuff.(Observe/question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analyze, Report Conclusions). Be able to rattle off the hypothesis at a moment's notice. Don't just say it is for science. If it is for science, experiment is a middle step, so what is your observation, research and hypothesis?

Sorry for my rant. Maybe I'd be better off watching old Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies.
Jeff

It is not possible to fix the world. As a person that had seen a lot said to me "life is **** then you die."
What you can do is accept that.
The world is facing major problems. Each person tries to survive as best they can. It is easy to concoct dilemmas and believe you have done something. It is much more difficult to stand back and recognise the obvious problems. This is not the place to discuss such things. I'm of the opinion that the discussions themselves are meaningless.
As for having a laugh, well I do get some enjoyment from that.

 

[Mal Paso]

You can't take a photograph of a Condor without Signage!

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Rassie]

Steering away from old Peter Sellers movies and back on track to the topic posted...
My wife and I were walking along a trail with some folks who had mist nets set up in a local park and were tagging birds that day. I was going to capture some photos of them in action to give to the group. At the second stop, a song sparrow was in the net, unfortunately, the person removing it from the net broke the bird's wing. SNAP! Poor bird had to be destroyed. At least song sparrows are one of the most common native species around here. Yes, stuff happens I understand that. However, what was the hypothesis they were trying to validate or disprove? Was the experiment worth the cost of a seat bird? I don't know and I'm honestly not sure the people who were there did either. Needless to say, I did not end up keeping any of the very few photos I shot. It wasn't a commissioned shoot or anything, we just happened upon them while out taking photos.

I had an ornithologist griping because photographers were standing too close to an eagle nest. Mind you I know the spot and the pull out is about 80 yards from the nest with a river between them and the nest. Well, a couple weeks later, this same fellow posted a slew of photos of his team banding the eaglets from this very same nest.

A group nets and tags Saw Whet Owls every year at a local preserve. What are they trying to learn? Migration patterns (they come through here every year).

Now, I am not a Luddite, I'm all for science. Wile not a biological or natural science, I do have a degree in Computer Science. I like technology and made a living with it for 36 years. With that said; you tell me, what is more stressful for the eagles, 6 or 7 people standing 80 yards across a river with cameras, or a dozen people setting up tables, scales and other science equipment and one of them climbing up the tree and taking babies out of the nest to band, draw blood and gather info? I think watching the babies removed from the nest is much more stressful.

My point is not that all banding is bad. My points are:
1) if you're doing it for the science, don't be a hypocrite thinking what you do isn't stressful for the birds because it is.
2) if you're doing it for the science, understand your banding experiments are far more impactful than a person with a camera walking along a path capturing photos.
3) if you're doing it for the science, be able to clearly articulate what you hope to learn. Basic scientific method stuff.(Observe/question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analyze, Report Conclusions). Be able to rattle off the hypothesis at a moment's notice. Don't just say it is for science. If it is for science, experiment is a middle step, so what is your observation, research and hypothesis?

Sorry for my rant. Maybe I'd be better off watching old Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies.
Jeff

I couldn't have said it better myself. I would add that I truly believe many folks doing the banding do it as a hobby, and that motivation is just plain wrong. The birds have no say in the matter. They get captured and banded against their will, and I think those folks doing it for a hobby instead of a true interest in the science, do it for the wrong reasons. I know how passionate I am about my photography, and I like to show my better images on these forums as well, because we're a community of folks with similar likes, we share and discuss, and I like being part of that. I imagine the folks tagging birds are similarly passionate in their hobby groups. The difference is that I don't exercise my hobby at the expense of the wildlife.

 

[Ibrahim]

Least you got the photo of the Condor. Best of luck getting a photo of a Passenger Pigeon.

 

[Ibrahim]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I would add that I truly believe many folks doing the banding do it as a hobby, and that motivation is just plain wrong. The birds have no say in the matter. They get captured and banded against their will, and I think those folks doing it for a hobby instead of a true interest in the science, do it for the wrong reasons. I know how passionate I am about my photography, and I like to show my better images on these forums as well, because we're a community of folks with similar likes, we share and discuss, and I like being part of that. I imagine the folks tagging birds are similarly passionate in their hobby groups. The difference is that I don't exercise my hobby at the expense of the wildlife.

"The difference is that I don't exercise my hobby at the expense of the wildlife."
Are you sure?

 

[SCoombs]

I had always assumed these things were regulated and done only by people with some kind of authorization, especially given how often it's a protected species which is being tagged. I wouldn't have thought it was done as a hobby.

 

[Ibrahim]

I had always assumed these things were regulated and done only by people with some kind of authorization, especially given how often it's a protected species which is being tagged. I wouldn't have thought it was done as a hobby.

Steady on there SCoombs, next thing you will be posting web sites that support banding.

https://www.fws.gov/project/bird-ba...atory-bird-program-ducks-geese-doves-and-more

https://www.dcceew.gov.au/science-research/bird-bat-banding

 

[jeffnles1]

It is not possible to fix the world. As a person that had seen a lot said to me "life is **** then you die."
What you can do is accept that.
The world is facing major problems. Each person tries to survive as best they can. It is easy to concoct dilemmas and believe you have done something. It is much more difficult to stand back and recognise the obvious problems. This is not the place to discuss such things. I'm of the opinion that the discussions themselves are meaningless.
As for having a laugh, well I do get some enjoyment from that.

thank you for sharing such great pearls of wisdom. We are all deeply in your debt.

 

[Ibrahim]

No problem Jeff. Always happy to help.

 

[Icarus]

You can't take a photograph of a Condor without Signage!
View attachment 69648

That's true and that signage and those transmitters keep those birds as safe as they can be. During the avian flu outbreak in our AZ condors they were able to locate sick birds and bring them in for treatment, they were able to find an egg which had lost it's mother, but father was still incubating. They waited until father left, took egg in to Liberty Wildlife in Phx where it competed incubation and was taken to Boise to be raised by foster parents. If a condor is sick with lead poisoning they can find the bird, capture it and take it in for treatment. So yeah, you can't get a photograph of a condor without signage, but that signage and those transmitters frequently save lives.

 

[Icarus]

I had always assumed these things were regulated and done only by people with some kind of authorization, especially given how often it's a protected species which is being tagged. I wouldn't have thought it was done as a hobby.

You have to have a US Fish and Wildlife permit to band birds. There are specific rules. There is a great deal of reporting to do. Anyone handling the birds should be named on the permit.

 

[aolander]

I had always assumed these things were regulated and done only by people with some kind of authorization, especially given how often it's a protected species which is being tagged. I wouldn't have thought it was done as a hobby.

Permit required, and you need qualifications.

https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/atoms/files/BBL_permit_application_form.pdf

 

[Icarus]

In a study when a bird is banded there is a USFWS band (aluminum) and an alphanumeric band which ID's the bird. If there is a second alphanumeric band, it's there for a reason. Many backpack transmitters are designed to fall off after a year or two.

I feel banding for a specific study is legitimate. It often enables researchers to resight bird using optics instead of having to recapture it to identify it. Telemetry on Swainson's Hawks a number of years ago drew attention to huge #s of birds being poisoned in Argentina. They stopped using that poison on grasshoppers.

Hobbyist banding in my opinion should not be allowed. Band returns are so low there is very little if any data collected..

As to the stress factor, we need to recognize that birds lead a very stressful life whether they are prey or predator. Life for them is always on the edge. If the banding activity which definitely stresses them benefits them, the benefit is greater than the risk, then that works for me. If it's done for someone's recreation I abhor it.

 

[Rookie Roy]

In a study when a bird is banded there is a USFWS band (aluminum) and an alphanumeric band which ID's the bird. If there is a second alphanumeric band, it's there for a reason. Many backpack transmitters are designed to fall off after a year or two.

I feel banding for a specific study is legitimate. It often enables researchers to resight bird using optics instead of having to recapture it to identify it. Telemetry on Swainson's Hawks a number of years ago drew attention to huge #s of birds being poisoned in Argentina. They stopped using that poison on grasshoppers.

Hobbyist banding in my opinion should not be allowed. Band returns are so low there is very little if any data collected..

As to the stress factor, we need to recognize that birds lead a very stressful life whether they are prey or predator. Life for them is always on the edge. If the banding activity which definitely stresses them benefits them, the benefit is greater than the risk, then that works for me. If it's done for someone's recreation I abhor it.

Thank you for all the informative posts. I now feel better about the flamingo I saw.

 

[EricBowles]

This tagging and banding of birds is one of my pet peeves, and I have ranted about it before.
1) The birds are traumatized every time they are captured and tagged.
2) Birds occasionally get injured or killed in the process of capturing and tagging.
3) The tags are unsightly, and I don't like my photographs to be spoiled by tags on legs and wings. Selfish, I know, but no more selfish than the guy who puts the tag on the bird in the first place.

In one of the Whatsapp groups that I'm a member of, someone once asked members to list their hobbies. Someone was quick to list his hobby as bird banding, and right there is my problem. How many birds has this individual traumatized, injured or killed in the process of exercising his hobby? My hobby is wildlife photography, and I do it just as often as I can manage, with no injury or trauma to the animals. If this individual exercises his hobby as eagerly as I do mine, I feel sorry for the birds that are captured by him all the time. I've seen birds with three or four bands on their legs, which means that bird had likely been captured many times over by hobbyists, many of whom I suspect couldn't care less about studying the data gathered by banding. I suspect for those folks it's more about how many birds he/she can band or tag. Bragging rights?

I know many folks will disagree with me, so feel free to make your case here and prove to me that I'm entirely wrong. I get the fact that we learn about birds by banding them, and that this knowledge helps us humans plan for their conservation and protection, so I'm not completely blind to the benefits. My question is this: How many bands or tags on a bird are too many? I can't believe that the people who put second, third or fourth bands on a bird can have compassion or empathy for the bird, and that's when I seriously start questioning their motives for doing what they do. The flamingo above is a case in point. That darn radio transmitter is equivalent to an electronic ankle bracelet on a felon.

There are a lot of different versions of bird banding, tagging, and tracking. I've participated in bird banding and tagging as well as photographed it. The injury rate is very low - but does exist.

Songbirds are normally captured in fine nets. The birds are tangled in the net and can't get away. It's possible for an inexperienced person to damage the bird's leg or leg's during removal. For experienced banders, the risk of injury is very low. Once removed from the net, they are moved to a banding station for data gathering and banding. If it's windy or if temperatures are outside a safe range, banding is cancelled for the day. Banding is always supervised by a lead staff member as well as experienced banders. If there are injuries, they notice immediately. My guess from participating in this process is the injury rate is in the range of 0.1-0.3% - 1-3 per thousand birds.

While many of the people involved in banding are volunteers - and therefore hobbyists - they are not unskilled or untrained. There are many jobs involved, and the most experienced people are in senior roles while the novices are doing things like keeping the log book or carrying birds from nets to the banding station. The general skill level is higher than Master Gardeners or similar hobbyists. All volunteer banding that I am aware of is under direct supervision of licensed banding experts who are working directly under supervision of the Department of Natural Resources or an expert ornithologist responsible for the project. Many of the volunteers have been participants in banding projects for more than 10 years.

It's relatively uncommon for a bird to be caught and banded more than once. It happens, but the number of banded birds are so small compared to a population that it's probably in the 1-2% range.

Migrating birds like red knots and ruddy turnstones are sometimes captured in nets fired by canons. The Cape May survey of red knots is one of the biggest projects going back more than 20 years. They are very strict about handling of birds, and injuries or fatalities are in the 1-3 per thousand range. Birds are kept in the shade in insulated coolers to prevent overheating while they are being processed. This is only for a period of about 10-15 minutes. When ambient temperatures rise, they stop banding. The monitor the respiration rate and heart rate of birds being captured and handled.

Banding is an important way to track bird migration over time. There is a process for reporting band numbers (and colors and letters) so anyone can find out where a bird was originally banded. It's very helpful for photographers who capture photos of banded birds to report the band numbers. Some of these birds are part of large migrations and may be threatened or endangered.

Radio transmitters are used for some birds to aid in tracking. For example, whooping cranes migrate for long distances and are threatened/endangered. Most populations in the US were raised in captivity and released. Almost all are banded and many have radio transmitters. Most of the bands and transmitters were attached before the bird was released into the wild.

Raptor chicks are normally banded (and transmitters attached if appropriate) in the nest before they fledge. Nesting sites are identified, monitored, and chicks are safely banded before leaving the nest.

I know that from a photography standpoint, bands and transmitters are in the way. But I tend to view it as a small sample of the overall population, and overall is a good idea to support the birds and their habitat. Data on birds, migration routes, and population counts is critical to protecting species that need help.

My suggestion is to photograph birds with bands or transmitters, record the data or the band in the EXIF, report banding numbers where possible, and use those photos for education or editorial rather than art.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[AlanB313]

There are a lot of different versions of bird banding, tagging, and tracking. I've participated in bird banding and tagging as well as photographed it. The injury rate is very low - but does exist.

Songbirds are normally captured in fine nets. The birds are tangled in the net and can't get away. It's possible for an inexperienced person to damage the bird's leg or leg's during removal. For experienced banders, the risk of injury is very low. Once removed from the net, they are moved to a banding station for data gathering and banding. If it's windy or if temperatures are outside a safe range, banding is cancelled for the day. Banding is always supervised by a lead staff member as well as experienced banders. If there are injuries, they notice immediately. My guess from participating in this process is the injury rate is in the range of 0.1-0.3% - 1-3 per thousand birds.

While many of the people involved in banding are volunteers - and therefore hobbyists - they are not unskilled or untrained. There are many jobs involved, and the most experienced people are in senior roles while the novices are doing things like keeping the log book or carrying birds from nets to the banding station. The general skill level is higher than Master Gardeners or similar hobbyists. All volunteer banding that I am aware of is under direct supervision of licensed banding experts who are working directly under supervision of the Department of Natural Resources or an expert ornithologist responsible for the project. Many of the volunteers have been participants in banding projects for more than 10 years.

It's relatively uncommon for a bird to be caught and banded more than once. It happens, but the number of banded birds are so small compared to a population that it's probably in the 1-2% range.

Migrating birds like red knots and ruddy turnstones are sometimes captured in nets fired by canons. The Cape May survey of red knots is one of the biggest projects going back more than 20 years. They are very strict about handling of birds, and injuries or fatalities are in the 1-3 per thousand range. Birds are kept in the shade in insulated coolers to prevent overheating while they are being processed. This is only for a period of about 10-15 minutes. When ambient temperatures rise, they stop banding. The monitor the respiration rate and heart rate of birds being captured and handled.

Banding is an important way to track bird migration over time. There is a process for reporting band numbers (and colors and letters) so anyone can find out where a bird was originally banded. It's very helpful for photographers who capture photos of banded birds to report the band numbers. Some of these birds are part of large migrations and may be threatened or endangered.

Radio transmitters are used for some birds to aid in tracking. For example, whooping cranes migrate for long distances and are threatened/endangered. Most populations in the US were raised in captivity and released. Almost all are banded and many have radio transmitters. Most of the bands and transmitters were attached before the bird was released into the wild.

Raptor chicks are normally banded (and transmitters attached if appropriate) in the nest before they fledge. Nesting sites are identified, monitored, and chicks are safely banded before leaving the nest.

I know that from a photography standpoint, bands and transmitters are in the way. But I tend to view it as a small sample of the overall population, and overall is a good idea to support the birds and their habitat. Data on birds, migration routes, and population counts is critical to protecting species that need help.

My suggestion is to photograph birds with bands or transmitters, record the data or the band in the EXIF, report banding numbers where possible, and use those photos for education or editorial rather than art.

View attachment 69665
View attachment 69666

View attachment 69667

View attachment 69668

I'd like to compliment Eric on his explanation, very well said. I volunteer at a local Northern saw-whet owl banding station that our Audubon chapter supports. The project is part of a larger, nationwide project to understand the migratory patterns of this species, as well as identify whether we have a local population. This aids in their management and could lead to important conservation decisions by local agencies.

The banding is managed by local professional biologists that are licensed to do it. They have to apply to local and state agencies with scientific oversight as to whether the project warrants the work. We have discovered that we do have a local population as well as some of our birds moving to other areas.
As a volunteer in my 3rd season, I have never touched a bird. I set up nets, take them down, maintain equipment, and as a Board member of my local Audubon chapter, help in any way I can. We are supporting other scientific studies such as placing acoustic recording devices at Tricolored Blackbird colonies to aid in understanding their dialects (yes, they have them). The researcher we help with this has over 30 years experience, he runs a statewide operation, and is a professor at a nearby university. He has banded many, many 1000s of TRBLs and this has greatly aided their preservation. We have to understand the movements of this endemic and threatened CA species.

The care I have observed by the banders is considerable. They very gently handle the birds but are conscious of needing to do this quickly to avoid traumatizing the bird. They have only trained one volunteer to handle the birds, but she exhibited remarkable skill. If any wind comes up, they immediately close the nets. If they observe a predator like a great horned owl nearby, they'll close the nets. I have nothing but respect for how they do their work. They really care about their subjects.
We use the sponsorship our chapter provides as a way of informing our members and the public about the life cycle of these beautiful birds. I don't photograph them during the banding because I don't want to ruin their eyesight with a flash. We use soft red light during the banding.

On another note, I found a photo of mine from 2015 that showed bands on a Snowy plover on Sanibel Island. I sent the photo in as others have mentioned, and got almost an immediate response from the researcher in charge. She told me that my photo filled in the 2015 whereabouts of one of the longest lived and most successful breeding plover on Sanibel! Which was super fun to hear.

So, at least in my experience, the banding seems to be done very carefully and with the bird's welfare in mind.

I recommend looking at the Institute of Bird Populations website: https://www.birdpop.org/pages/maps.php. They are also doing genetic analysis (from a small feather, for instance). These along with traditional banding help show where our passerines are going in Mexico, central America and South America, which once again, aids in their conservation. It also fosters international scientific cooperation. This is very helpful as our birds spend half of their lives elsewhere.
Thanks for the discussion!
Alan

P.S. I forgot to add that all the professionals involved are doing this after hours! They are also volunteers.

 

[aolander]

Thank you, Eric and Alan.