Goose Banding

BNL in cooperation with the NYSDEC bands Canada Geese. Geese are banded during the summer months when they are molting and lack flight feathers. This allows biologists to herd the geese into makeshift corals. Once the birds are in the corals, biologists capture individual birds; determine their age and sex, then place an aluminum band containing a unique identification number. The numbers are registered with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in order to track    information about the birds. If the birds are recaptured, found dead, or hunted, the information from tag is supplied back to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service who will then be able to tell when and where it was banded, determine its age and distance from banding site. The information becomes very valuable when a bird is recaptured multiple times at varying locations, because it provides information on behavior and habitat use. For BNL information over time will assist with determining whether certain geese are resident non-migratory birds, if they are migratory, age, and how many times they’ve nested at BNL.

Canada geese on one of BNL’s many ponds

Goose round-up

Corralled geese

Capturing a goose for banding

Sexing, age determination, and banding

Last Modified: February 1, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to: Mary Daum

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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