TYPE OF BIRD BANDING STATIONS
There are several different types of bird banding stations. Some stations are called Year Round Constant Effort Stations. These stations band on a regular schedule year round. The protocol generally remains the same for each cycle. Zuma Canyon is one such example. We band every two weeks on Saturdays.
Other stations band on a set schedule. MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) bands every year. Banding occurs once in every 10 days cycle for 10 cycles (100 days) using 10 mist-nets, banding for six hours starting at sunrise, starting 1 May with the last cycle ending early August.
A second such banding station is the Bear Divide Bird Banding Station. Banding occurs from late March/early April to mid-May, six days a week (TU-SU). Banding begins at sunrise, using 10 mist-nets.
Some banding stations generally have a regular cycle. There is one banding station at the University of California Burns Pinon Ridge Reserve (in San Bernardino County), where banding (now) occurs over two weekends, once in the spring and once in the fall.
Some banding stations have a more irregular cycle that is determined by the schedule of the lead bander. One such station is at the Simi Hills Wildlife Observatory near Chatsworth. Another such station is in the vicinity of La Verne.
A last type of banding does not involve a set location; rather it involves an area. Hawk banding involves driving along rural roads, watching for hawks on telephone lines/poles. A baited trap is dropped nearby with hopes that the bird is caught.
GENERAL COMMENTS
Note where the banding station is located. Realize banding typical begins at sunrise, or sometimes earlier at dawn. If banding begins at 6:00a, and if it is a two hour drive from home to the station, this means getting up at 3:00a. If banding occurs on Wednesdays, and you work M-F, that will not work.
LIST OF BANDING STATIONS
BEAR – Bear Divide Bird Banding Station
BURN – Burns Pinon Ridge Reserve
Simi Hills Wildlife Observatory
ZUMA – Zuma Canyon Bird Banding Station