Calling All Citizen Scientists!

Citizen scientists are needed to report on their observations of birds with "jewelry," or color bands in the park. Color bands help researchers to keep track of individual birds without having to recapture the birds. This is where your observations come in. If you observe a Tree Swallow or Eastern Bluebird with color bands in either Boyce-Mayview or Peterswood Parks, please report your observations on this blog. 

Here is how it works:

Take note of the specific color combination. At Boyce-Mayview Park this year, the important thing to note is the color combination with two color bands, which will in most cases be on the bird's right leg. For the photo above, you would report it as: Yellow over Orange. If you notice the red over aluminum band, you can report that as well, but again at Boyce-Mayview this year, that piece of information is not required. Take note of the location and behavior of the bird. Here is an example:

I saw a Tree Swallow with yellow over orange bands perched on Box 11 in Bird Meadow. It sat there for the whole time I watched it, about 10 minutes.

It's that easy! If you don't know your location by a name, just describe it, such as "the big field on the right when you walk into the park from the wetlands entrance near Ardolino's." Easy!

The nest boxes are marked with numbers, both on the box itself and on the baffle, or metal piece on the post which is used to deter snakes and other nest predators. Again, if you don't see a number, just refer to the box in relation to its position to something else, as in "the first box on the left when you come to Bird Meadow from the road leading into the park."

At Peterswood Park this year, it is also important to take note of the color of the band on the leg with the aluminum band. The aluminum band may not be as easy to see, so you're really looking for the two colors on one leg, and the single color on the other leg. The reason this is important is that the single color represents what year the bird was originally banded. This project is in its third year in Peterswood Park.

Now the why. Why bother with the bling? We are studying several things about these two secondary cavity nesters. We are looking at nest site fidelity, or do these birds use the same areas, or even same nest sites each breeding season? How many broods do they have? When do individuals return to the area? What is the timing of their return? Do some of these birds overwinter here?

At Peterswood Park, we have documented the same individual bird returning to the same area to breed three years in a row.

Please note that this banding does not adversely affect the birds. The safety of the birds always comes first. 

So, please be a part of our science and report your observations. Nesting season is well underway and will continue through July for these species. Your observations are important and very much appreciated. If you have questions, please feel free to post them here. I may not answer immediately, as I will have many nestlings to keep track of, but I will answer your questions as soon as possible.

Please note that this banding does not adversely affect the birds. The safety of the birds always comes first. Please do not try to open nest boxes as this could cause an adult to abandon a nest site, or for nestlings to prematurely fledge, when they are not ready to be out of the nest. I carefully keep track of  nestlings and their ages so that I know when to stop checking on the boxes in order to prevent premature fledging. 

Thank you for your participation in this project!