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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 28, 1962 - Bird Banding At Tiana BeachBanding a Flicker Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Fuleston of Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh This week I have the pleasure of introducing to you a new guest writer. Many of you al- ready know him through his active participation in birding along the south shore. Since his retirement he has been particularly interested in Oper- ation Recovery. It is with pleasure indeed, that I wel- come Walter Terry of Blue Point • to this column and cbm -. mend the next two articles to you. ps. BANDING AT TIANA In spite of the pounding of the ocean surf, there is an inspiring stillness just as ' the first thin light of dawn appears over the dunes at Tiana, on the barrier beach between the Atlantic Ocean and Shin:necock Bay, about three miles east of Quogue. This marks the place and the beginning of the daily operations where a total of about f o u r thousand migratory birds a re banded each year during Septem- ber and October under "Opera- tion Recovery" — The Atlantic Coastal Netting Project. The name of the project oan- notes a wishful thought, t h a t some of the newly banded birds might be recovered at other banding stations along the Atlan- tic coast on their way south. The purpose of Operation Re- covery is to study the fall migra- tory habits of birds, particularly under certain weather conditions. The work 'is carried out mostly by licensed bird banders working for the love of it, in cooperation with and under the guiding hand of the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior. This project, initiated in the fall of 1955 with seven stations along the Atlantic coast, band- ing about 1500 birds, has been greatly expanded in the past few years. In the fall of 1960 there were about 55 stations, including some inland and forreign stations, banding nearly 63,000 birds. At the largest station, located on the barrier beach at Island Beach, N J, over 21,000 birds were banded by more than twenty participants from August 25th to October 29, 1961. Split round aluminum bands are supplied to licensed banders by the Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice. There are currently 14 dif- ferent band sizes available from the smallest with an i n s i d e diameter of eighty three thou- sandths of an inch to the largest with an inside diameter of 7 /8ths of an inch. Bands are usually fastened to the bird's leg with long nose or specially constructed pliers. A band should be just large enough to slide up and down the leg freelywithoutbeingtooloose. A record of the time, location and species or AOU number of each individual bird banded, to- gether with other perttnent in- formation, is filed with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge at Lau- rel, Maryland. Japanese mist nets of nylon or silk, much like a lady's hairnet, are used for trapping the birds. The : nets are generally about five feet high and thirty to forty feet long, the loose filmy mesh being threaded to slide freely, trammed f as h i o n, on five supporting strings, anchored at each end to poles set. in the groand. At Tiana, one to five nets are set up in series depending on the terrain. Lanes for the nets are cut in the low beach shrubs ex- cept when good fortune provides an old road or a natural opening. Vegetation about three to ten feet tall, such as that found at Tiana iu well adapted for netting birds. When the cover is higher, many birds tend to filter through the tree tops, thus avoiding the nets. Nets are either furled or dis- mantled at the end of the day. A good practice is never to leave the open nets unattended for more than a few minutes, also to remove trapped birds promptly. As a general rule, a cold spell in New England and Canada will accelerate the fall migration. Many more birds tend to migrate on a clear, windless night than in cloudy or windy weather. Although based on these con- ditions we generally have some idea when to expect a new wave of migrants at Tiana, up to the present no sure fire method has been developed to determine ex- actly when the bird's will arrive and in what quantity. Occasional- ly when conditions appear perfect and a good wave is expected, we find practically no birds. Although a major requirement for successful banding is t h a t birds must be present, weather conditions have an appreciable ef- fect on the number of b i r d s trapped. For opt'imun netting conditions, there should be no wind, since birds tend to fly around flapping nets, and, it is best when cloudy, as the birds can see the nets in bright sunlight. In 1961 a new element w a s encountered — water. For about a week after Hurricane Esther in September, 1961, abnormally high tides were ex rienced, rising well above Dune Road and com- pletely flooding the netting areas in some places. Hip boots were required for several days. It can readily be seem that during a two month period, there will be very few perfect days for netting birds. On peak days a maximum of about 400 birds are banded by two operators. At such times the only limitation is man- power. Whereas usually each operator handles six to ten nets, during peak periods at Tiana the birds arrive in such great numbers most of the net's must be furled, each operator handling one to three nets. Next week's concluding arti ill review some interesting rlts of the banding operation FIELD OBSERVATIONS Dennis Puleston reports: At feeder — January 17 Dickcissel Oakdale — January 20 Dickcissel ( 2) Brookhaven — January 20 Horned Owl Brookhaven — January 21 Bald Eagle Patchogue — January 20 Gadwall ( 14) Ring- necked Duck (40) Babylon — January 20 Gadwall ( 48) Fish Crow (8) Southaven - January 20 Ruddy Duck (15) L. R. Ernest reports: Southampton — January 20 Great Blue Heron (7) Mecox — January 22 Wilson Snipe (S) East Hampton — January 22 Lame flock Grackles Judd Bennett -reports: East Marion — January 18 -21 Dickcissel * Hats off to Mr Ernest ho has been feeding 60 or ournine Doves at his rest Please send all comments and field observations to Paul Stou- through, Bay Avenue, Box 105, RD No 1, Cutchogue, N Y.