Netting & Banding Birds

Carolina Wren!

Yes, I realize now I wasn't quite using the "Bander's Grip" correctly, but it was my first time. So, I'm alright with learning from my mistakes. In the section below I describe how to do so properly.

My Ornithology professor took several of us in the field yesterday to learn how to net and band birds! Obviously, you need several permits for doing so, regardless, the whole process was a lot of fun! Setting up and taking down the nets without tangling them was more complicated than I'd anticipated, but I'm glad I got to do it.

---

How to do a one-person Bander's Grip with small birds:

1. With the bird's back against your palm, secure the bird's neck between your pointer and middle fingers

A. I was assured after this photo was taken that I could not choke the bird by keeping a tight hold on it's neck. They're so tiny.

2. Keep the very tips of your pointer and middle finger pressed together

3. Using your ring and pinky fingers, secure the bird's legs over the fibula/tibiotarsus, leaving the ankles and tarsometatarsus free.

The thicker grey line you see here, below the knee, represents where you normally see the bird's body intersecting it's legs, and generally where your pinky and ring finger would grasp the bird's legs in "Bander's Grip".

---

Before a bird is banded, it obviously needs to be caught! Mist Net

The image on the right is "mist netting". As you can see, it's a very fine gauge mesh making it difficult to see from head-on, especially if vegetation is in front and/or behind it. Each of those main lines has "extra" netting to create a little pocket the bird can fall into after collision. As expected, birds usually tangle themselves in the netting. So, you need to move slowly, be patient, and stay calm while attempting to remove them.

In continuation, as with all things scientific, you generally have to have a thick manual on hand that is not exactly inexperienced-user-friendly.

The one my professor brought with him was: Identification Guide to North American Birds by Peter Pyle.

In contrast to the identification guide I usually use: National Geographic; Field Guide to the Birds Of North America by Jon L. Dunn & Jonathan Alderfer, the book my professor brought with him also included which size band to use for each bird.

Once we were able to identify what size band the bird's leg needed, we then needed access to pliers like these:

If you look closely, there's a little post just behind the two holes in the pliers. Before you can slip a band onto the bird's leg, you'll place the band on that post and separate the arms of the pliers to uncouple the edges of the band, thus, making it possible to slide it over the tarsometatarsus of the bird's leg. Once it is separated enough, place the band in one of the two holes in the pliers and secure it over the bird's leg.

Be sure to triple check the band slides freely over the bird's leg, but isn't so loose a talon on the opposing leg may be easily caught in it. Also ensure the band's edges are flush with one another, securing it on the specimen's leg.

While you've got the bird in Bander's Grip, you'll want to take a few measurements to assess the health of the bird. I'm sure there are more, but here are a few of the things I learned:

---

1. Fat content in the Furcular Hollow (area between branches of "wishbone") and breast:

a. From what I know, this is measured on a scale of 0-5

b. Turn the bird upside down and blow on it's breast to separate the feathers to observe fat content.

Furcular Hollow: Full Furcular Hollow: Empty

---

2. Measure various aspects of the bird's wing using a ruler like the one below.

a. The lip at the end allows you to rest the wrist of the bird's wing against it for measuring the primaries on the bird's wing.

---

3. There are two main ways I currently know of to find the sex of the bird you're banding.

a. Plumage (color of feathers, particularly in the breeding season)

b. Keeping the bird in Bander's Grip, and upside down, observe the bird's cloaca. For male's there's usually a little "nipple" like structure that helps with introducing sperm into the female. This is also mostly dependent on the breeding season, but it's a good skill to learn regardless.

---

"Photographer's Grip"

I'm sure you can see from the image below, why the photographer's grip is used for prime photo ops of banded birds.

Bell's Vireo by Mark Lockwood

How to do a one-person Photographer's Grip with small birds:

1. With the bird already in Bander's grip, use your free hand to take the bird's legs between your pointer and middle fingers.

a. Once again, make sure your fingers are holding the tibiotarsus, not the tarsometatarsus.

2. For best control of the bird, use your thumb to pinch the tarsometatarsus against your pointer finger.

---

I've been involved in field research since my sophomore year of high school, but since my bee project ended, I've been itching to get back out there helping with some kind of research. This whole learning experience was such a delight! These are the kinds of things, with some good music, I could easily spend an entire day doing. I'm really hopeful for what will happen when I graduate in a few weeks, but if I end up volunteering or working somewhere where these are the kinds of things they're doing... Man, I live for this stuff.