Banding at Sagawau

Hi fellow birders! I’m Simon Tolzmann, a young birder from Chicago, IL. Today was my third experience with bird banding. Today gave me a new perspective on banding, as I hope it did to all the other young birders!

We started the day at around 9:15 in the morning with nine young birders at Camp Sagawau in Palos, IL. The farmhouse banding station is a haven to many species of bird including Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Downy Woodpeckers, Indigo Bunting, a plethora of American Goldfinch and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and many more. There are feeders everywhere!

The banders gave the group some insight into the world of bird banding: The process of becoming a bander, getting your permit, and actually banding the birds! We all asked many questions about the logistics and process of banding. I will admit that my curiosity got the better of me and I asked a ton of questions! The banders asked us questions too. They quizzed us on things like: What is ecology and why do we need to learn about it and why do birds matter? The banders had wonderful things to talk about and made it all very interesting.

They took the group out to the mist nets and trapped two Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and two Downy Woodpeckers to band! The banders then showed us the process of aging, sexing and taking all the standard measurements of the birds. The first was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak they banded and I had the honor of releasing the bird back back into the wild! The second Rose-breasted Grosbeak, my brother Peter released! The two feisty Downy Woodpeckers, who had no fear of drawing blood on the bander’s hand, were released by two other young birders, Oliver Georg and Phoebe Edstrom. One of the Downy’s was a “repeat offender,” meaning it was already banded, and later flew into the mist nets again. The age of that bird left all the people in that room astounded. The bird was six years old! Most Downy’s live between three and five years. The other was a new bird to be banded, and it was going through heavy moult.

After this, the field trip was coming to a close, but we had time for Q&A! Even more questions were asked, more great answers were given, and we all had a great time. We always enjoy the banding field trips, so keep on doing them! Thank you all, and good birding!