Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary will celebrate International Migratory Bird Day and conduct a Bird Banding Demonstration Saturday, May 9, from 7:30-8:45am, at the Society's 314 Unquowa Road, Fairfield property.
Master Bander Judy Richardson and her team will demonstrate all aspects of the bird banding process. The public is invited to join the session for bagels and watch the team at work! Visitors will get an up-close, bird’s-eye view of every aspect of bird banding.
Birds are captured using a fine net (known as a mist net), gently removed and fitted with a permanent aluminum or other lightweight band around the leg. They are then measured, weighed, aged and sexed before they are released unharmed back into the wild. Each band is individually numbered, which enables the specific bird to be identified should it later be recaptured or recovered. The information is recorded and the data is sent to the original bander and the Bird Banding Laboratory.
Bird banding is an integral aid to the study of birds, their migration, behavior, social structure, lifespan, survival rate, reproductive success and population growth. From the data collected, scientists can also determine where specific birds migrate to breed, where they spend the winter, whether species populations are rising or falling and other details of their lives.C
The fee is $5 for members and $7 for non-members. Call for reservations at 203-259-6305 ext. 109. Visit Connecticut Audubon Society’s website at www.ctaudubon.org for a complete list of the Society's many spring programs and special events.
Photo:
Easton resident Judy Richardson, Chairman of the Connecticut Audubon Society Fairfield Regional Board of Governors and Master Bander, bands a bird at the Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary Banding Station.