I use the banding codes, mostly because I learned many of them while banding birds. I could give you additional reasons why I like them (ask me if you want to know), but my reason for replying is to strongly suggest that you NOT use codes for your "archival" records, especially if you hope for others to use them in the future. As you mention, someone 100 years from now might not be sure what your codes are, but it also can cause problems right now. For example, if you want to be sure to get strong negative reactions to a listserv post, just send a list of codes in a message. Some birders take it as a personal insult.

Codes are great for note taking, but when you get home, re-record them using the full names in whatever manner works for you, whether that's re-writing them in a notebook or entering them into a computer database. Perhaps this step would be unnecessary if you're not planning on sharing the records with anyone else and if you're certain you'll understand in the future what you've written. Doing this will help remove doubt about what you wrote and allow a future researcher to wonder only if you actually saw what you claimed to have seen. ;)

As I said, if you're still interested in why I prefer the banding codes, just ask, but the bottom line is you should use whatever works best for you.

John Puschock
Wedgwood, Seattle
g_g_allin at hotmail.com
http://www.zbirdtours.com & http://www.birdtreks.com


If you?ve made it this far you?re hardcore. This
is where I ask for people much more knowledgeable than me to explain why the
FLBC system is superior and point out drawbacks to the SLBC system that I don?t
see.

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