Several Tweeters have remarked that there is little benefit in
collecting one datum. I agree. Banding data, however, is much like
Breeding Bird Atlas data. When a bird is banded, a set of standardized
measurements (weight, wing chord, skull ossification, body fat,
appearance of plumage, etc.) are recorded and deposited at a central
location. The banding data is available upon request. Banding a bird
is a contribution to a large database, even though you may only band an
individual and the majority of bands are never seen again.

Lapping: Banding does not imply that a lap must be performed. In fact,
this is a procedure that I personally (speaking as a botanist with no
data, mind you), think would have a significant effect on survival. I
see little potential risk in banding this bird, but would not support a
lap or other invasive procedure for a bird in the middle of migration.

As for the potential benefits of banding, this individual could, if
recovered, supply a piece of the migration puzzle for CCLOs. Most
CCLOs, according to the field guide maps, breed in the northern Great
Plains and into Canada. They winter in the southern plains, southwest
deserts, and Mexico. This bird presumably crossed the Rockies and then
either traveled across the Frasier River Valley (Canada) and down the
coast, or crossed the intermountain desert and the Cascades to reach
the coast. Can it find its way back to the Northern Great Plains in
the spring or is it doomed to fly up the Canadian coast and live its
life in celibate solitude? This bird is most likely a vagrant that
will never again contribute to the CCLO gene pool. But it's not
inconceivable that a small proportion of CCLOs winter regularly on the
coast and are overlooked because of the inconspicuousness of this
bird. Chances are, the band would never be seen again by people, but
they are better than the chances of winning the lottery. When a bird
is so easy to catch and so many people are curious about its sex
anyway, why not catch it, submit it to a few frightening minutes of
feather ruffling, and clip a band on it? It can't be much worse
than having half a dozen people stomping through its feeding grounds
to flush it into view every day.

Kelly Cassidy
Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Univ. of WA, Seattle