Colour-banded adult Song Sparrow
Are you an avid birder? Have you ever
tried
identifying colour-banded birds? Here's
something
you can do to add to your enjoyment of a stroll
around two of Victoria's most readily-accessible
Conservation Areas, Rithet's Bog and Swan Lake,
that will help contribute to a globally-unique
scientific
research project? Please read on.
Colour-banded adult Song Sparrow
Every year we colour-band roughly 200 adult and nestling Song
Sparrows
in the
Rithet's Bog and Swan Lake Conservation Areas (Victoria, B.C.) as part
of a long-term,
large-scale study on the physiological, behavioural and demographic
effects of food and
predators on songbirds.
Colour-banded Song Sparrow nestlings
Each bird is given 1 metal Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) band
stamped
with a unique
number, plus 3 (if banded as a nestling) or 4 (if banded as an adult)
plastic colour bands.
Which leg each band is on, the band's colour, and whether a band is
above (nearer the
body) or below (nearer the foot) another can be varied in thousands
of different ways,
allowing us to give each bird a unique 'band combination' that can
be used to identify
it by sight alone. Band combinations are 'read' by listing the
bands on the bird's left leg
from top (nearer the body) to bottom (nearer the foot) and then listing
the bands on the
bird's right leg from top to bottom. Always remember that
if you are facing a bird its
left leg is on your right and vice versa.
This bird's band combination is read as: 'metal over
light blue, orange over dark blue' (mlb.odb)
The bird in the picture above was banded in Rithet's Bog in the fall
of 1999. If we were
to go out tomorrow and, using just our binoculars, see a bird with
the band combination
'metal over light blue, orange over dark blue', we would immediately
know that the bird
shown in the picture was still alive. This would tell us that
Song Sparrows in Rithet's Bog
can survive up to, e.g. 3 1/2 years (assuming it was March 2003 when
we saw it again).
In addition, if we saw this bird at Swan Lake, rather than Rithet's
Bog, where it was
banded, it would tell us that Song Sparrows in Victoria may migrate
between different
breeding sites. By accumulating 'sightings' of many different
birds in many different areas
we can determine average life expectancy, how far young move from their
parents, the
likelihood of inbreeding, and a host of other measures that it is
essential
to know in order
for us to understand how wild animal populations operate.
Map of Rithet's Bog showing the 5 Sections (e.g. Vole
Meadow) where birds have been banded
You can help by downloading and printing the map
shown above, along with data sheets
and lists of the banded birds in each Section that you can take with
you on your next outing.
Identify the Section you'll be walking through (as shown on the map
above) and dowload
the appropriate list: Chatterton, Emily
Carr, Fir Tree Glen, Vole
Meadow, Dalewood.
If you are really keen you can also download a detailed map of the
relevant Section:
Chatterton,
Emily
Carr, Fir Tree Glen, Vole
Meadow, Dalewood. You can also
downloand a list of the birds banded at Swan
Lake together with a Swan Lake map.
(All of the above are Adobe PDF files accessible using any browser).
When you see a banded Song Sparrow, find its band combination on the
list, mark where
you saw it on the map, list the time and your details on the data sheet
and send your
findings to us. We will then send you a brief biography of each
bird.
If you would like more information please e-mail or phone. To
submit your findings
please post them to whichever address shown below is appropriate given
the
time of year.
|
mclinchy@uvic.ca or lzanette@uwo.ca
|
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Please click here
if you would like to
participate in other aspects of this project.
Song Sparrow crew hard at work on Portland Island