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People have been banding birds for centuries. The first record of a metal band attached to a bird’s leg was about 1595 when a banded Peregrine Falcon, belonging to King Henry IV of France, was lost in pursuit of a hawk. It showed up 24 hours later in Malta, about 1,350 miles away. The first records of banding in North America belong to John James Audubon, one of the founders of ornithology, and a talented painter of birds. In 1803, Audubon tied silver ribbons to the legs of young phoebes near Philadelphia and was able to identify two of the same birds when they returned to the area the following year. A formal system of bird banding was developed in 1899, when Hans Mortensen, a Danish school teacher, began placing aluminum leg bands on ducks, white storks, starlings, and hawks. He inscribed the bands with his name and address, hoping that they would be returned to him if found. His system of banding became the model for our current efforts. Banding at the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office began in the early 1960's and has remained a core component of our research activities throughout the state. All banding activities are permitted and monitored through a national program administered by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The Bird Banding Laboratory determines which bands should be used, how banding studies are to be conducted, and responds to members of the public and scientific community who see a banded bird. If you see a banded bird or have additional questions about banding, call the banding hotline at 1-800-327-BAND or visit their website at: Bird Banding Laboratory. Please contact the ASC Banding Coordinator, John Pearce for more information. |
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Data from our banding program enables biologists at the Center to address a vast number of research questions for a better understanding of wild bird populations and their conservation. To date, results from our banding program have been presented at numerous scientific and public meetings and have been published in a wide array of scientific journals. For more detailed information on the kinds of studies that use leg bands, search our publications page using words such as "banding", "productivity", or "survival" in the Abstract field. Additional information about specific projects can be accessed below under the Projects section of this page. |
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The use of bands and radio transmitters and their methods of application to wild birds is not a casual activity. Our agency strives to conduct sound, responsible research and make the results of that research available to managers and policy makers. Our use of bands and radio transmitters is monitored and permitted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory and all personnel receive training in the proper use radios and bands. Some radio transmitters require a short surgery conducted by a wildlife veterinarian. For more information about surgical implants and the data they generate, see the links at the bottom of this page. Because we use information from marked birds to make inferences about populations, we are concerned about the impacts that bands and radios might have on wild birds. Therefore, we periodically conduct studies to ensure that the markers we use have no harmful effects and that the information we obtain from marked birds is similar to that from unmarked individuals. Publications from of such studies are listed below. Click on the publication title for more information. |
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Mark-recapture analysis of annual survival Spectacled eider population modeling Territoriality and behavioral ecology Seabirds (Puffins, murres, kittiwakes, etc.)
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Observations of banded birds are extremely valuable pieces of information. If you see a banded bird or have additional questions about banding, call the banding hotline at 1-800-327-BAND or visit their website at: Bird Banding Laboratory. |
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Radio telemetry
Banding |
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Each
year, biologists with the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science
Office mark nearly 5,000 birds of 30 different species with uniquely-coded
metal or plastic leg bands or neck collars (
Radio
transmitters have been used in research studies over the last 10 years
to gain additional information about avian biology that cannot be
obtained with leg bands or other methods. For example, in 1996, biologists
at the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office used surgically-implanted
radio transmitters to locate the 
The
following is a short list of some of the on-going and completed projects
at the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office that have
used leg bands, neck collars, or radio transmitters. Projects are
grouped by the primary objective of the study.
