Bird banding is more than simply banding the bird (putting a small metal ring around its leg). This is actually the easy part. My son could do this when he was 10 years old. Legend has it that David Sibley (of the field guide fame) banded his first bird at 7 years of age. Banding also include identifying, ageing, and sexing the bird, as well as take up to several dozen metrics on each bird. This also means, in our case, setting up mist nets at sunrise, extracting birds tangled in the mist nets, and finally taking down the mist nets at the end of the banding session. Getting up at 4:00a, working in inclement weather, putting in the proverbial 10,000 steps, having birds poop on you, and finally getting to go home after a full day. If this appeals to you, you might have the makings of a bird bander!
Permits to band birds are given by the federal government from the Bird Banding Laboratory of the U.S.Geological Survey.
MASTER BANDER – this individual has had many years of training and is licensed to band a great variety of bird. In my case, I (Sakai) can band all land birds, except listed species and eagles. Separate permits are given to band hummingbirds and water birds.
SUBPERMIT BANDER – This individual has the level of experience to operate a banding station on his/her own, as determined by the Master Bander.
BANDERS – These individuals have varying levels of experience to band birds. Some are novices and work closely with and are supervised by experience banders until they become proficient enough the work unsupervised. This can take months to years.
LIST of MASTER BANDERS AND SUBPERMIT BANDERS
These individuals are either MASTER BANDERS OR SUBPERMIT BANDERS. Read their short biography describing the type of work they do. Read about the BANDING STATIONS. Match up the type of work the bander does with what, when, why and where they are banding. If you live in Santa Fe Springs, Zuma Canyon is “geographically undesirable”. Some banders may not have a biography, as they are not operating a banding station or for whatever reason are not accepting new banders.
SAGE BYLIN
JAN GOERRISSEN
LAUREN HILL
KRISTEN COVINO
MIKE MORRISON
MARK OSOKOW
TANIA ROMERO
WALTER H. SAKAI
CRYSTAL WILLETT