IBP's Banding Classes

A typical day at an IBP training class is spent at mist nets with birds in the hand in the morning and in classroom discussions in the afternoon and/or evening. The pace of the courses is fast, but there is also some free time. The seven-day introductory courses are designed to provide both amateur birders and professional biologists with the skills necessary to participate in monitoring and research programs involving bird banding (Comments from students). Costs include accommodation, bird bands, and training materials ( 2013 Banding Classes).

Skills taught include...

• operation of and removal of birds from mist nets
• bird-handling skills
• in-hand ageing and sexing techniques
• data scoring and recording using MAPS protocol and forms

Lectures and discussions cover...

• avian life histories, energetics, molts, and plumages
• banding ethics
• the permitting process
• the role of banding in research and monitoring

Materials provided include...

• a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) Manual
• Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part I, by Peter Pyle

The four-day advanced classes are designed for experienced banders who wish to improve their sexing and ageing skills. The class will focus on understanding and identifying the differences between specific adult age classes using the Identification Guide to North American Birds by Peter Pyle. We will also spend some time, as needed, addressing other advanced skills, such as skulling, refining the scoring of various characteristics, and interpreting these characteristics for age and sex determinations.Costs include accommodation and training materials ( 2013 Banding Classes).

To visualize differences between adult ages, we will consult...

• museum specimens
• photographs
• Jenni and Winkler's Photographic Identification Guide to European Passerines (Academic Press)
• birds we catch during the netting sessions

Four mornings are spent at the nets working with live birds. During four afternoon or evening lecture/discussion sessions, we will review molt strategies and plumage sequences (focusing on unusual strategies such as woodpeckers); address how to identify molt limits and other ageing cues using the visual materials as aids; and discuss approaches to extracting the information in the Pyle Guide for determining adult ages.

Prerequisites for the advanced classes

Participants in the advanced classes should...

• be able to handle and set up mist nets,
• be able to extract birds from mist nets, and
• have basic familiarity with ageing hatch-year versus after-hatch-year birds.

Participants must also bring their own copy of the Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part 1, by Peter Pyle, published in 1997 by Slate Creek Press.

Internships and Training   Comments from past students

 

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