Science and Nature Program and Nature Explorers

A Tale of Two Stations: What We’ve Learned from Nearly 60 Years of Bird Banding
Annie Lindsay, Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Avian Research Center, studies how songbird populations are changing over time and how birds might be coping with or adapting to these changes. Although birds have been migrating for many millennia, they are now facing increased threats from humans, including invasive species, habitat loss, and a steadily warming global climate. When an animal’s ability to forage or breed is disrupted (either positively or negatively), the consequences carry over into subsequent seasons and can affect an individual’s survival, ultimately influencing a species’ population. Annie’s research is based on data collected at Powdermill Nature Reserve, which has run a year-round banding station since 1961, and at Black Swamp Bird Observatory, which has been banding birds during migration in northwest Ohio since 1992.

Following Our Feathered Friends
It’s fall migration season, and that means many birds are heading south for the winter! Why do they do that? How? What makes them get up and go, and what does Powdermill have to do with it all? Come discover the answers to these questions and more in this hands-on exploration of avian migration. After the activity, we will hit the trail in search of our feathered friends.