Bird Banding & Bird Walk - Fall 2019 Schedule

Banding is great field experience, looks good on your resume and is a skill required for many field positions.  In addition, there are opportunities for independent study credit. Bird walks help you improve field ID skills which is important for all wildlife professionals and increases your enjoyment of being outdoors.

Bird-Bander in Training Class

• In Class - Thursday, September 5th, 5:00-6:30 pm in 102 Forest Resources Building
• Field – Monday, September 9th or Wednesday, September 11th or Thursday, September 19th (only need to attend 1 of these mornings)

The bird-bander in training program is designed to introduce the techniques of bird banding to individuals who are interested in being a volunteer bird-bander.  To qualify for the class, you should be able to identify common breeding and migrant birds by sight or be willing to learn bird id.  The class will meet for approximately 5.5 hours (1.5 hours in class room and 4 hours in the field). There is no charge for the class, but individuals who sign up for the training should be willing to commit to assist with bird-banding at the Arboretum on at least three mornings (see dates for Fall below or next Spring) including helping to set up and take down nets.  If you are interested or have questions, email Margaret Brittingham at mxb21@psu.edu.

Participants will learn:

• Techniques for aging and sexing birds
• Identification, aging and sexing of common fall migrants
• Techniques for removing birds from the net
• Why we band birds and information gained from banding
• How to record banding data
• How to measure wing chord, tail length, and take fat measurements
• Where to find other training resources
• Migration behavior and ecology
• Recommendations for teaching the public about banding

Bandings and Walks - Fall 2019