Banding baby Mountain Bluebird

A few evenings ago, I went with a gentleman who has had a Bluebird nesting box route for something like 25 years, recording and banding the various birds he finds. These include Tree Swallows, too. This is the third year in a row that I have gone on this drive south of the city and I enjoy it every time. This little Bluebird is in the process of being banded. Apparently, in all these years, this gentleman has never known a mother to abandon her babies after they have been picked up and banded. The Mountain Bluebird population was dropping drastically but, thanks to this nesting box program, their numbers are increasing again. Thanks, Don, for your very long-term commitment to these beautiful Bluebirds! Thanks to everyone else who is/has been doing this!