Have you ever seen a banded bird? Welcome to Field Notes. I’m Rob MacDonald, a Wildlife Biologist with the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

People have been banding birds for centuries. The first record of a band attached to a bird's leg was in 1595 in France. However, a formal system for bird banding did not develop until 1899.

Bird banding is one of the most useful tools in the study of birds. Birds are captured and marked with a uniquely numbered band on the leg. The bander records when and where each bird is banded, how old it is, what sex it is, and any other information and sends that data to the Bird Banding Laboratory.

Information from bands that are later recovered and reported to the Bird Banding Lab provides data on the movement, survival, population, and behavior of birds. Banding birds has also been important in developing hunting regulations, restoring endangered species, and studying the effects of environmental contaminants.

Through banding, it has been learned that some bird species go south in one migratory pathway and return north by another pathway and specific nesting grounds have been connected to specific wintering areas. Banding has helped determine that Arctic Terns make the longest migration flight of any living species. They have an annual round trip flight of 25,000 miles.

From 1908 to 1998, almost 57 million birds have been banded in North America. Of these, more than 3 million banded birds have been found and reported.

There are also other kinds of markers used to identify an individual bird. Neck collars and colored leg bands are used to study goose populations. Nasal disks are used to study local movements and behavior of ducks. Dyes are used to mark birds in an obvious but temporary manner. And, radio transmitters allow tracking of individual birds movements over short or long distances.

Banding continues to provide very useful information, even in the Bristol Bay area. The banded Northern Hawk Owl found in Dillingham last October turned out to be the farthest known movement of a Northern Hawk Owl in the world! There are many other similar examples showing the great importance of banding efforts.

If you ever observe a banded bird or if any ducks or geese you hunt have bands, please let us know. You may keep the bands if you choose. The main thing we would like to know is the number on the band so we can report it and learn more about the birds.

For Field Notes, I’m Rob MacDonald.