Migration Blitz - The Birds are Coming!

It’s that time of year when many of our feathered friends return to our region for the summer.  After wintering in warmer climates as far south as Argentina, many of the songbirds return to Missouri and areas further north to build their nests and raise their young.  In anticipation of this event the World Bird Sanctuary Bird Banding Team is planning a Migration Blitz.

Many migrants come back to the mid-West to nest and raise young.

The team usually meets every Thursday for 5-6 hours to capture and band birds on the World Bird Sanctuary property, capturing all their vital information before releasing them back into the woods.  However, from Saturday 24 April to Saturday 8 May, the Bird Banding Team will be meeting every day from 5am to 11am to capture birds and their details on World Bird Sanctuary property.

The Field Studies team arrive early, coffee and cake in hand, and begin setting up their mist nets.  These fine mesh nets are set up around the World Bird Sanctuary property, and capture birds as they begin flying through the woods to forage for the day.   The birds are quickly removed from the soft net and taken to a measuring station.  Here, their species, sex, weight, length, wingspan and other details are recorded.  If they are not already banded, a light numbered band is placed around their leg.  If they already have a band, this band number is recorded.  The bird is then released back into the woods where it was captured.

The information captured by the team is sent to the National Bird Banding Laboratory, where it is processed.  This central database matches up band number recorded and gives bird conservationists a good indication of where birds migrate to, what their populations look like, and if there are any concerns facing the welfare of any particular bird species.

The Migration Blitz culminates with International Migratory Bird Day – a worldwide celebration of birds.  At World Bird Sanctuary we will be hosting many fun and exciting activities where you and your family can learn more about why it is important to protect them and their flyways.

Members of the Banding Team teaching students about the importance of gathering information through bird capture, banding and release.

This is a fun and exciting time, and experienced and new volunteers are welcome.  If you would like to help the Bird Banding Team with the 2010 Migration Blitz, and don’t mind a few early mornings – they would love to see you!

To volunteer, you can email crew leader Linda here: wbs bird migration @ aol.com (remove spaces from email address when you compose your message).   You will then be contacted by a member of the Bird Banding Team to schedule your visit.

Catherine Redfern, Director of Development, World Bird Sanctuary