We’re thrilled to share that Avian Research Coordinator Luke DeGroote’s bird banding workshop has been featured in AFO Afield!
Luke was one of five instructors teaching 15 participants advanced bird banding skills and ethics, and molt interpretation in Iguazú National Park in Argentina last year.
But what is bird banding and why does it matter?
It’s the practice of catching and releasing birds after marking them with a small band around the leg to identify them. The bands let researchers study all kinds of things about birds including migration patterns, social structure and behavior of different species, population changes, and diseases.
The group was thrilled to catch and band a band-tailed manakin—a small bird that looks a bit like it was tie-dyed because of the way the bright red, orange, and yellow feathers cover its head and chest.
Read more about Luke DeGroote’s participation in this collaboration between the North American Banding Council (NABC) and AFO in AFO Afield.
