Bird Banding

Today was an amazing day!  We started off our day with observing and participating in bird banding near Lucky Peak Reservoir.  I didn't even know such a program existed that invites the public and informs people about the bird population and migration here in Idaho.  This project is done through Intermountain Bird Observatory at Boise State.  There are a couple of sites near lucky peak that set up nets during certain dates and times and then band the netted birds.  The process was very intriguing and the data recieved about the birds in the area was plentiful.  During my time there I watched the biologist check out each bird, band them, and then record data about their age, fat, feathers, and such.  They even had a few birds that were returning banded birds that they collected more information about.  When speaking to the biologist, Heidi Ware, I learned that they have netted and recorded about 55 species of birds in the project.  While I was there they banded house wrens, red-winged blackbirds, oriols, songbirds, robins, and my favorite, the yellow warbler.  

So, what does this mean for teachers?  You can bring your class to the banding field during the early fall months and participate.  The biologists are also available to come to your school and speak about the project as well.  It was definitely the highlight of my day and I'm excited to follow the research through the Intermountain Bird Observatory.