The Rouge River Bird Observatory
Presents:
Scenes from a banding operation...
(slow loading, but worth it!)
Ah, bird banding.
Early mornings, mosquitoes, birds and their poop, caffeine. Here's
a look behind the scenes at RRBO.
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RRBO runs about 25 nets
in varying habitats. Here are two of our sites.
On the left, the open, weedy hill nets,
and on the right, the shrubby prairie nets.
| Having to be on site well before dawn has
it's hazards. Bander Kim Hall may be a good dancer, but here she
demonstrates that boots in a pile all look about alike at 5 AM, resulting
in two left feet. Someone bailed her out with a loaner pair mid-way
through the morning rush! |
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Here's a sight I see hundreds of times
a year -- a Gray Catbird hanging in a net! |
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Julie Craves & Christine
Hofer remove some birds from the nets (left), and Chris, Julie, and Mark
Irish on the way back with the catch.
| Some unstylish bed sheets have found new
life as bird holding bags, sewn by the friendly mom's of bird banders!
One bird to a bag, they hang under our work tables ready to process. |
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The view from my desk. Nuff said. |
| Rookie bander Mark Irish discovers that there
is no safe way to hold a Rose-breasted Grosbeak! |
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And you think you get crapped on at work! |
| Our banding lab is currently located in a
barn, which we "share" with other creatures. Here, a mouse made a
nest in the medical kit and perished after eating through the alcohol swabs.
Next year, we're moving into new digs in the new Environmental
Interpretive Center! |
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Rouge
River Bird Observatory,
Natural Areas
Dept., University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI 48128
