Bird Banding Field Trip!

The birds we found were put in bags to be banded then released.

We used binoculars to see the birds.

Our guide talking about the first bird we caught!

Our guide carefully taking a bird out of the net.

We had to check all the nets to see if a bird got caught.

To kick off our PYP unit "sharing the planet" our class went to the nature center to learn about bird banding and the cycle of birds and were there from. On this field trip we were ornithologists and studied ornithology, the study of birds to learn about bird migration.

Also on this field trip we saw great big nets where the workers get the birds every half hour and take the birds to the banding tent where they're banded quickly and released in the wild.

The reason they are banded is they want to see where the bird goes and were it ends up. If the bird is banded here in Michigan and it was found dead in Brazil, and sent to a lab near the location and the numbers show gender, age, where they were banded, and type of bird. We also got to help the bander let the birds go and band them. Overall, the field trip was really fun!


Written by Elena and Estee
 

We were sitting on the benches by the river to look for birds.

You had to very carefully carry the bag if a bird was in it!