MAPS Banding Session 2
Written by and photos taken by: Delaney Osmond, Avian Field Research and Communications Intern
Sunday, June 12th, 2022
Spring Lake Park Reserve
Banded: 32
Re-trap: 5
Seen/Heard: 40
Most Banded Bird of the Day: Yellow Warbler (YEWA), 6 birds
Banders: Jennifer V, Linda W, Shelley B, Wendy L, Jeanne N, Sonia M, Isabel M, Doreen D, Yvonne S, Pam A, Loren A, Delaney O
The second session of MAPS banding at Spring Lake Park Reserve was a lot more manageable than the first session thanks to the increase in volunteers assisting in bird extraction, as well as the decrease in birds netted. In total, 37 birds were banded. Some of the highlights from this session include sparrows, orioles, warblers, and a Kingbird who was certainly Isabelle and Delaney’s favorite.
Some species added to the probable breeder’s list include; the Northern cardinal, American crow, and Blue-grey gnatcatcher. And some species added to the confirmed breeder’s list are; the American woodcock & Brown-headed cowbird.
CNC volunteers were able to meet some of the staff from Dakota parks, Erin from the education team, and Meagan. We also met a very excited cyclist with a YouTube channel who was very interested in knowing more about the bison project. We have had a lot of Dakota Park guests come to us with questions about the bison projects, so we will make efforts to make such information more readily available for volunteers and guests. Hopefully, we will not have continuous swarms of people staring at the birds.
Delaney was able to get in contact with Scott Hagan from Dakota parks about the Habitat Structure Assessment survey, which is required for all MAPS locations. We will be able to start mapping out the survey area by the next banding session. Unfortunately, Father’s day lands on a Sunday, so there will be a longer time period between sessions 2 & 3.
Thank you for your continued assistance and support.