Megan's Nature Nook
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This past week I had the opportunity to participate in the banding of American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) chicks! Since early this spring we have been monitoring two Kestrel nest boxes at Oxbow Park near Byron, Minnesota. We check the boxes about weekly and record data that we then submit to the American Kestrel Partnership to learn more about Kestrels, their population, and how we can help them. We were very excited when one day we went to check the boxes and there was a female Kestrel sitting on eggs in one of the boxes! We patiently waited and were once again excited when we learned they had hatched! About two weeks after hatching we had a Bird Bander come to age, weigh, sex, and band the chicks. It was a very cool experience that I was lucky enough to be a part of! Two American Kestrel nest boxes were first installed at Oxbow Park the spring of 2018. This is the third year the boxes have been up, and the second year one of the boxes has been used and successfully raised chicks! Click the button below to read an earlier blog post: American Kestrel Nest Boxes, to learn about the nest box monitoring at Oxbow Park and for more information about the American Kestrel Partnership. Before we get into the Kestrel chick banding, here is some general information about bird banding: What is Bird Banding? Bird banding is the process of attaching a small, lightweight, aluminum band to the leg of a bird to identify individual birds by their unique 8 or 9 digit number. It is basically putting an anklet with their own social security number on them to identify each bird. What Does a Bird Band Say? Each band in engraved with a unique 8 or 9 digit number. It also says, WWW.REPORTBAND.GOV What Do You Do if You Find a Band? If you either spot a live bird with a band or find a deceased bird, you can report the 8 or 9 digit number along with the date, time, and location the band was spotted or found to the Bird Banding Lab by going to their website www.reportband.gov. Who Can Band Birds? Bird banding is regulated by the United States Geological Society (USGS) Bird Banding Lab. Only federally licensed bird banders can acquire and band birds. Why is Bird Banding Important? The information gathered from bird banding is used in scientific research, management, and conservation projects. The information can be used to learn more about the following:
Now onto the Kestrel chick banding! Bird Bander, Kirk Payne, sets up the banding site near the nest box. He puts down a tarp, then a towel to lay the chicks on. He also has a scale to weigh each chick and a banding tool kit to keep his bands and banding tools. Clarissa Schrooten, Oxbow Park Naturalist, is recording data. The chicks are removed from the nest box and placed in a bucket lined with saw dust for cushion. Touching the chicks will not harm them or cause the parents to abandon them. Most birds do not have a very good sense of smell. Each chick is then aged and sexed by looking at its feather development and coloring. These chicks were all females between 16-17 days old. The start of brown feathers coming out of the feather shafts lets us know it is a female. You want to band Kestrel chicks between 12-24 days old. In that time frame they are large enough that the band will not slip off yet young enough that they won't try to bail out of the nest and fly because of the activity going on. The chicks are all weighed using a scale. And their keel bone is felt to determine the amount of meat on the breast. You can evaluate if a bird is thin, fat, or in the healthy range by doing this. These three chicks have been well taken care of. Time to band! To the left you can see the tool box with bands of varying sizes for different bird species along with pliers for closing the band around the bird's leg. The band is loose enough that it can move up and down the leg, but snug enough that it won't get caught on things. Closing the band with the pliers. All done! Each bird has their own unique band number. The band also has the website of where to report if you see the band. Check out those talons! Information such as location, banding date, approximate age, band number, sex, and weight were all collected for each kestrel chick. The data that was collected will be entered onto an online database with The Peregrine Fund who runs the American Kestrel Partnership program. This information will help to learn more about Kestrels. Once the banding was complete, the kestrel chicks were returned to their nest box. In not too long they will be old enough to fledge and leave the nest. Thank you to Kirk Payne for helping us monitor our nest boxes and others throughout the county, and for coming out to band our birds!
Let's hope this next box is successful once again next year and in the years to come!
2 Comments
Susan E. Quigley
5/29/2022 02:22:53 pm
What type of post is the Box mounted on? How high off the ground is the Box? We monitor boxes in Southeastern Pennsylvania and have been looking for a lightweight post.
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6/23/2022 06:54:58 pm
Hi Susan, thanks for reading my blog! These are metal sign posts like what you would see along the highway with road signs. This box is about 10 feet off the ground. Good luck with your monitoring!
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