Alright, Alright You've Convinced Me

I have finally succumbed to the demands of many to blog about my life as a field biologist. Woo hoo! :)

This first post is going to be particularly birdy, for those of you that don't exactly know or understand what I'm doing. So, here's the 411:

I'm a budding Field Biologist who was introduced to bird banding last year when I interned with the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) and the Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO).  IBP runs the MAPS Program (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship); at a MAPS station ~10 mist-nets (kind of like giant, extremely fine volleyball nets, 3m x 12m) are set-up, leading birds to be captured, banded, processed and then released. There's specific protocol we must follow and the main objective, other than bird safety (of course!), is to have constant effort mist-netting so we have consistent data. 

The MAPS program has banding stations all over North America and is collaborating with partner organizations in Central and South America, as well as many US Territories. Many of these stations have been in effect for 10+ years (the oldest is almost as old as me!).  The data that has been collected is therefore extremely valuable to Land Managers, Ecologists, and Conservation Biologists as we start to analyze and understand the reasons behind decreasing song bird population trends and changes in population demographics. And why is that so important, you ask? Because birds are excellent bioindicators of habitat quality (their health represents the health of a given habitat on the whole). 

When we process a bird we take note of the band number, species, sex, age, breeding condition (are they gettin' busy or not), fat content, presence or absence of molt limits (the boundary between replaced and retained feathers, see examples below), wing length, feather wear (and tear that is), weight, and tail feather samples (for isotopic and genetic studies). 

Indigo Bunting, Second Year Male

Western Tanager, Second Year Male

I'll be banding in Yosemite this summer, leading a crew of 2. I’ll get into the details and add some more personal updates later!

FYI: Bird Banding is also known as Bird Ringing – hence the name of my blog. No, I am not simply a raging Beyonce fan who wears a unitard and heels alone in my room Tuesday nights gyrating uncontrollably with nothing but female empowerment running through my veins.

Sending warm bubbly feelings to you all (yeah yeah, rub some dirt on it boys). 

Cheers, 

Erin :)