Bird banding and breakfast at Lacawac

SCOTT RANDO
Posted 6/21/17

On the morning of June 10, Dr. Rob Smith of the University of Scranton and Dr. Meg Hatch of the Penn State Worthington Campus gave a demonstration of bird banding at the Lacawac Sanctuary in Lake …

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Bird banding and breakfast at Lacawac

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On the morning of June 10, Dr. Rob Smith of the University of Scranton and Dr. Meg Hatch of the Penn State Worthington Campus gave a demonstration of bird banding at the Lacawac Sanctuary in Lake Ariel. The morning was clear and mild, and it wasn’t long before the almost invisible mist net yielded a demonstration bird, a male American goldfinch.

Drs. Smith and Hatch demonstrated the normal steps of processing captured birds, such as measuring wing chord length and measuring the tarsus (foot) bone of a bird. This protocol helps biologists assess the overall health of birds, and can help determine if the habitat in a given area is favorable. Also discussed was the method of using plumage and flight feather length to assess the age of a bird.

Sometimes, the objective of a study is to track birds in either their local habitat or their migration flights. Telemetry transmitters are getting more advanced, including becoming smaller and lighter, which makes telemetering small birds more feasible. New projects involving telemetry were brought up during the demonstration.

After the outdoor presentation, we went inside the Lacawac Sanctuary’s Visitors Center building for some excellent quiche, pastries, coffee and other selections. After breakfast, the two presenters gave a talk on migrating and breeding bird behavior. You can hear some of these birds, such as the wood thrush, right now if you go outside; they arrived from Central and South America earlier in the spring, and are now breeding and nesting.

Many nature and conservation organizations give presentations at the Lacawac Sanctuary. To find out more and to get the current events schedule, visit the Lacawac Sanctuary web site at www.lacawac.org/.

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