For the third year, Montana WILD and Spring Meadow Lake State Park will be hosting bird-banding events throughout the summer and would like to offer the public an opportunity to observe the banding station.
Participants will get the opportunity to watch skilled ornithologists and volunteers capture birds in large, thin nets called mist nets and record detailed data about each bird including species, age, sex and physical condition. Scientists will also attach a small uniquely numbered band to each bird’s leg, which will help to track their movements and behaviors over time, before releasing the banded birds back into the wild.
Education staff will be on hand to explain the process and to teach about the importance of monitoring bird populations, migration patterns and ecological health. Additionally, educators will have a special station set up for young birders to practice banding and collecting data on model birds, and maybe even get banded themselves!
The scientists running the station will follow the rules lined out in the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program. The MAPS program is a continent-wide effort among public agencies, nongovernmental groups and individuals to help with the conservation of birds and their habitats through bird-banding. Learn more at https://www.birdpop.org/pages/maps.php
The banding station will be open to the public from 8 to 11 a.m. on the following dates: June 14, June 21, July 8, July 15, July 26 and Aug. 2. Those interested in viewing the station can meet at the gazebo on the back lawn of Montana WILD: 2668 Broadwater Ave., Helena. No registration is required for this free program.
For more information, call Montana WILD at 406-444-9941.
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
