This past weekend we went to the
Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to participate in bird
banding. We're hooked now! It was so much fun! We
definitely want to do it again and again.
Nets were set up in a field and then
we would just wait until a bird flew into them.
Once they are caught then a small
loosely fitting aluminum numbered band is placed around their leg.
Then their wings and tails are
measured.
Then their chests are blown on to
check their body fat and their feathers are checked to guess their
age.
Then they are weighed. They put
the birds head first into the tube and because of the narrowness the
birds cannot turn around to get out. After weighing, they are
carefully backed out of the tube and set free.
Emily got to set one free. She
released a
Mourning Dove.
Ethan got to release a pretty
little
Palm Warbler. He was migrating through Virginia from
up north on his way to Florida.
the Palm Warbler - listen to his
song
here
