Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: banding

Not my hand, by the way! Took this photo on 7 July 2014, whilst on one of Don Stiles' annual Bluebird outings to see the Mountain Bluebird nesting boxes along his route, SW of the city. Some of these wooden boxes have been taken over by Tree Swallows, which are also banded and counted. Unfortunately, this year, all the Bluebirds had already fledged, but we saw a few boxes that contained Tree Swallow eggs and some that contained several (around 6) Tree Swallow babies. Actually, one box had 12 baby Tree Swallows (12 days old?), all tightly snuggled together, so obviously two adult females were using the same box. I've never seen that before. Can't imagine how cramped it will be as the babies grow bigger and four adults need to get through the small hole of the box to feed them! Most of the birds we saw had already been banded, but we did see Don band a few others that were now old enough to be banded. He places some dried grasses at the bottom of a bucket and places each baby in there after he has fitted a teeny band around one of its legs (actually, it's foot, as that first big bend is the heel.) Then they are all carefully placed back into the nesting box, ready for Mom and Dad to return to them, which they do immediately. For anyone who might wonder if a baby bird is handled, will its parents pick up my scent and abandon it? The answer below is from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: A. It's a myth that parent birds will abandon young that have been touched by humans—most birds have a poor sense of smell, and birds in general identify their young using the same cues we humans do—appearance and sound. It's perfectly safe to pick up a fallen nestling and put it back in the nest, or to carry a fledgling out of danger and place it in a tree or shrub." Same would apply to bird banding. NO BIRD OR WILD ANIMAL SHOULD EVER BE KEPT AS A PET!

This is one of two Great Gray Owl adults that were banded by licenced bird bander, Richard Chamberland, who came down to Calgary from near Edmonton on the evening of June 5th. He and a few others banded the first adult on their way to meeting the rest of us. The adult male in my image has four owlets, who all looked as bedraggled as Dad. Can you believe I held this amazing owl?? I still find it hard to believe! Such an amazing feeling. The weather was awful, fog and rain and low light - not what my little point-and-shoot camera likes at all! I had to use flash to get a few of my photos, including this one (which I really didn't like doing). I wasn't expecting any photos to turn out, but was so happy that a few of them did. Thank you so much for inviting me, Richard - an experience of a lifetime!

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!

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 has just been 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. These birds would not be handled just so that I could take photos - they are only picked up in order to be banded. I just happen to be there with my camera at the ready! Thanks, Don!