Subject: [Tweeters] RE: Success in Skagit (and Banded Red-tail) banded bird
Date: Dec 1 23:01:05 2008
From: Dwight - dinpdx at yahoo.com


Tyler,

Regarding your post:
"While enjoying a successful day birding Skagit on Sunday (11/30) with Blake
Hough and Margo Thorp, I took a few pictures of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk
perched on a powerline near the West 90. I'm surprised that I didn't notice
it at the time, but while reviewing my pictures I noticed it had a ring on
its right leg. Too far away (read: I can't afford a powerful enough lens)
to decipher the number, but I figured somebody in Tweeterland may be
interested."

You can report banded birds to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/call800.htm

Even without the codes, sometimes the color and location(which leg, etc.) of the band and the species is enough information for a researcher to recognize their banded birds. There may even be a way to attach photos but I'm not sure. I reported an adult male Northern Harrier with a blue band on one leg once (I couldn't make out the numbers) and was surprised to hear from a researcher the next day who told me the life history of the individual bird I had seen. The information is greatly appreciated by the researchers too, so don't hold back sightings. The "experts" can filter out what they don't need.


Good Birding,
Dwight Porter
Portland, OR
dinpdx at yahoo.com