Great Smoky Mountains Institute seeks bird banding recruits

The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is recruiting help to track populations of the 230 different species of birds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thirty-four of the species living in the Park are considered endangered, threatened or otherwise of concern.

Banding sessions typically began at 6 a.m. as volunteers help erect nets. During the next six hours, the nets are checked every 40 minutes, birds are carefully removed and metal bracelets, marked with nine-digit numbers, are attached to their legs. Detailed notes are taken including age, gender and breeding condition. After the birds are inspected they are released.

The bands have a unique number on them, which is registered with the Bird Banding Laboratory in Maryland. If a bird is ever captured again, or if it is found dead, the finder should report the bird's status and band number to the laboratory.

The 2010 bird banding dates are as follows:

* Thursday, June 3rd
* Wednesday, June 16th
* Thursday, June 17th
* Wednesday, June 23rd
* Tuesday, June 29th (Tentative)
* Thursday, July 8th
* Friday, July 30th
* Wednesday, August 4th

For more information, please click here.


Jeff
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