Birds Without Borders - Aves Sin Fronteras®
Bird banding involves gently capturing birds in special nets called mist nets, carefully removing them, placing an aluminum band on their lower leg, examining and taking measurements, and then releasing the birds. Bird banding requires specialized training and a permit from the U.S. and/or Belize government and does not harm the birds in any way. Banding provides valuable information on the condition, age and sex of the birds captured. It also allows researchers to determine the species and numbers of birds present in a given location, as well as whether the bird is breeding in the area.
The information on birds banded is submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory of the U.S. Department of the Interior, where it is computerized. Banding provides valuable information on migration routes and timing, species that are increasing or decreasing over time, breeding and non-breeding populations, site fidelity to breeding and wintering (non-breeding) areas, and longevity of individuals.
If you find a banded bird, call the Bird Banding Laboratory at 1-800-327-BAND (2263) from anywhere in the U.S., Canada and most parts of the Caribbean. You also may write to: Bird Banding Laboratory, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Rd., Laurel, MD 20708-4037, USA. You will need to report the band number, location and date the bird was found, how you got the band and your name and address.
Since 1997, nearly 10,000 birds have been banded at the Wisconsin study sites. Since 1999, more than 4,500 birds have been banded at our Belize study sites.
We have summarized our research results into manuals of recommendations for landowners on how to manage your land to benefit birds. To see the manual for landowners in Wisconsin, the Midwest and the eastern United States, please click here. To see the manual for Belize and Mesoamerican landowners, please click here.
To learn more about bird banding, click here.
To view our bird-banding results click below: