landmarks
A Bird in the Band
story and photo by Paddy McGee
One of nature's Flying Wallendas, this common yellowthroat of the warbler
family (shown), just moments before, was whipping through the tranquil air at the Oak
Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre with acrobatic feats that would make Billy Bishop
jealous. Though perfectly executed, the aerial manoeuvres came to a gentle halt in
a net's soft mesh. A regular occurrence Friday summer mornings, it's all part of the
centre's songbird banding process. Researchers cast wide nets to catch some of the
region's 300 species of low-flying birds, and then catalogue, band, release and track
them — one of these little fliers once made it as far away as Mexico. Open to the public,
the bird banding sessions help gather information on life expectancy, breeding and
annual variations in adult and young bird counts.
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SUMMER 2013
13-04-12 1:21 PM
