Today, I was allowed to sit in as Amanda explain to a group of students the project that bands birds for research. She holds in her hand a paper bag with something moving around. It was captures inside a net earlier and waits for Amanda to let it out.
The student wait in anticipation to discover what kind of bird it is. Amanda explains the marking on the outside of the bag. SW SP are the letters that marks the bag. It stands for what kind of bird that is trapped inside.
When she pulls it out, Amanda puts the small metal band on the bird's leg. SW SP stand for swamp sparrow. The information from the band will be entered into a data base that is shared all across the world.
Along with the specie of the bird, are the measurements of the wings, tail and sex. One last thing to do to the bird. It is put into a tube and put on a scale to measure its weight. Now the swamp sparrow is let freed to go about its business.
Two of Amanda's co-researchers go out to search the nets for other birds. This will go on for the next few weeks. The information that is collected helps to study the migration patterns and where the birds lives. It was an interesting morning, which I enjoyed getting to see the bagged sparrow.
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