Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Upcoming trip: Banding station

We caught the first Albany Co record of Hooded Warbler!
This Sunday, June 10, we will head out to the MAPS banding station at Fred Lindzey's place near Centennial. This banding station is run by Audubon Rockies, and is part of the North American Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survival banding network. The goal of this banding program is to monitor demographics--survival and reproduction--of breeding birds. We will learn about how birds are banded, what we can learn from banded birds, and how we are able to determine the age of birds by looking at details of their feathers. Families and kids are welcome!

Meet Lisa Cox at Coal Creek Coffee downtown at 8 am to caffeinate and carpool. This is a nice chance for kids to get up close and personal with birds, but be aware that both the grass pollen and mosquitoes can be intense. Feel free to hang out at the banding station, but if you want to walk the net lanes you will be traipsing through standing water that can be over knee boots in places. Be prepared with mosquito repellant and appropriate clothes (long sleeves recommended), antihistamines, and boots or shoes that you don't mind getting wet.