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Show ' Handing Migratory Birds f t. bv Merlin Killpack 1. "et High School Instructor " the spring and sum-Dur'0nnths sum-Dur'0nnths we enjoy the songs. 0er m0?ri the benefits oi many r Z seen during the colder of the year. Where do jj onthhirds spend the winter? i K causes them to migrate? m of the same individuals i , yvear after year? Are the same birds found in - "lie latitude of our South- e Hemisphere? How can the "c ten when it's time to mi-' mi-' ' Which birds mate, for 8 i rrn any of the same mdi- return to the same nest- - fl lites year after year? These are only a few of. the ;ntions that anyone of us S wish to know the answer " We have considerable mfor-10;t"n mfor-10;t"n about some of these Sons but very little, if any. ' about others. ' The banding of individual 1 hirHs is the ony solution to some I Tthpse questions. For example, t June 4 1950, a female Moun-n Moun-n Bluebird was banded in - Sseverutah.. On May 3 1951. 3 S same individual took up 1 J Sk of raising her 1951 brood Si the same nest occupied her a year ago. Unfortunate- w the male was not banded. Therefore, it was impossible to i etermine if the former mate i returned with her. General be- avior tended to indicate he was I L same individual, but there t is no definite proof. During the 1949 duck season Ferris Timothy, Roosevelt, Utah, shot a Redhead Duck banded, is a young bird, on one of the ? large bird refuges in Eastern : Oregon. These are examples of the interesting information gain-, gain-, ed through banding birds. Over five million birds now : wear an aluminum band bearing y a number which is the key to ' where it was banded, by whom, and when. Banders are located in every r state of the Union, as well as all over the world. Therefore, the band number, in itself, does I not indicate where it was band-' band-' ed. by whom, or when. Should you have an opportunity opportun-ity to secure a banded bird you can receive this information by turning in the band. Also, vou will be helping to gather the I information pertinent to solving the above questions. The following is a list of instructions in-structions issued by the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service for . turning in bands: 1. The reporting letter should be addressed to: "Bird Banding Office, Patuxent Research Rp fuge, Fish and Wildlife Service" Laurel, Md." "vice, 2. In the letter print the full number of the band, including the series designation and the serial number. The series designation desig-nation may be a single letter or a two- or three- digit number and may be stamped to the left or over the serial number The series designation, if a number such as "48" or "5,00 is not a date and should not be so in iterpreted. Full numbers are correctly cor-rectly written as: A-678901- 48-1345920; 48-1345920; 141-543678; etc. I 3. If the bird is alive and uninsured, un-insured, read the number carefully care-fully without removing the band, and release the bird It may be reported again. If it is dead, remove the band and after af-ter flattening it out, attach it to the letter with scotch tape or surgical adhesivie tape. Should it be desired as a souvenier, it 'will be returned upon request. 4. Give, in the report, the exact ex-act date, the location (town 'county, state etc) and the manner man-ner in which the bird was obtained, ob-tained, this is, whether it was shot, found dead, trapped, etc. 5. Print your own name and permanent address clearly on the letter. 6. Keep a record of the. band number and refer to it should ! there be any subsequent correspondence corres-pondence about it with the service. ser-vice. The number is always the I clue to any record of a banded bird. I Some bands may bear the inscription in-scription "Notify F. and Wild- life Service, Washington, D.C.," lor "Notify Biological Survey, I Washington, D.C.," and on the smaller sizes these may be abre-viated abre-viated to "F. and W. Serv., Wash., D.C ," or Biol. Surv., Wash., D.C." t All reports of the recovery of b'anded birds will be acknowledged acknowl-edged with the name of the bird, the date and place where it was banded, and the name and address add-ress of the bander. The banding of birds is done by regular officers of the United I States and Dominion Services, ,by biologists and technicians ef jthe States and Provinces, and by I volunteer cooperators who are specially licensed under the provisions pro-visions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The banding of migratory mi-gratory waterfowl is largely re 'stricted to federal and state officers of-ficers and is done, chiefly, in .refuge areas. Most non-game I birds are banded by volunteer cooperators who are scattered 'over the United States. Canada, and Alaska. The bands are furnished fur-nished without charge by the service, but each station operator opera-tor supplies his own traps and other equipment. The students of Roosevelt high school are to be complimented highly for their sincere help in reporting banded pheasants in the Uintah Basin. The Utah Fish and Game commission is very grateful for their efforts. |