Bird Banding at Seven Islands State Birding Park

Seven Islands Willdife Refuge officially became Tennesee's Seven Islands State Birding Park on July 1st. Five days later I drove the thirty-minute drive to my first banding session after the official change and was happy to see the interstate sign with symbols that indicate the park is a good place for birding, wildlife watching, hiking, canoeing and kayacking.

Above, bird-banding team members Eddy Whitson, Patty Ford, Billie Cantwell, Mark Armstrong, Janie Kading and Colin Leonard walk back to the banding station on July 6th after an early morning net-run.   

I couldn't take a picture of the interstate sign without risking my life and those around me, so I satisfied my urge by snapping an image of the sign pointing out the park direction as I turned off the interstate.

Above and below, Master Bander, Mark Armstrong, processes a Yellow-breasted Chat, a warbler common to the park.  Banding sessions this summer will help document how habitat changes have impacted the numbers and species of breeding birds in the area.

Historically, the banding station collected MAPS breeding bird data.   MAPS stands for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Program, a program conducted by The Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes Station, California.  The MAPS program is conducted from May to August during breeding season and has specific data collection requirements with a goal of analyzing data to understand how bird populations are changing over time.  The information collected and reported by MAPS banding stations helps scientists to determine causes and effects of environmental change.

MAPS banding data requires that the net locations and habitat remain the same, however, and recent changes have impacted this continuity.  Mark is using this opportunity to determine how these changes are impacting the breeding birds and to provide a continuous history of species breeding activity for the park. Above, Janie Kading records data while Mark Armstrong and Billie Cantwell examine birds.

Mark examines a male Common Yellow-throat, a warbler that is far from common in appearance, but whose song is frequently heard in the park during summer months.  The Common Yellow-throat was the subject of a painting I created for the announcement of the new state park earlier this year.

Above and below, Billie bands a juvenile Northern Cardinal.

You can see the yellow, stretchy corners of the juveniles beak that are his remaining "gape".  This young bird is still being fed by parents.  Notice that the juvenile's beak is dark or brown and has not yet developed the bright orange that is characteristic of adult cardinal beaks.

Above and below, another view of the dark beak and yellow gape of the juvenile.  It is impossible to tell at this stage of plumage whether the juvenile is male or female.  With young birds like this one, frequently encountered during the breeding season, juveniles are walked back to the area where they were netted to reunite with their parents.

Below, Colin Leonard extracts a bird from one of the nets.

We had the good fortune of processing some vireos along with more common birds found in the nets. Below, a Red-eyed Vireo and a good look at the thick vireo beak.

Very soon after this bird was banded, we also had a White-eyed Vireo giving a good comparison of the two species.

Above, Mark and Bille consult the Pyle reference to determine the age using the vireo's plumage and eye color.

Above, a White-eyed Vireo has its tail measured.

In the above image, you can see the two species side by side.  The Red-eyed Vireo is closer and larger than the White-eyed Vireo.  The White-eyed Vireo is more colorful, with its yellow markings and white wing bars.

Vireos are incredibly curious and spunky birds.  After being banded, this White-eyed Vireo sat on Mark's fingers for a while before flying.  This gave me an opportunity to get some good images of its thick beak and that beautiful white eye.

Above, banding team members return from a net run with birds held in bags.

Black-eyed Susans sprinkle the fields around the park's grassland.

One of the youngest birds netted was a newly fledged Yellow-breasted Chat.  It is hard to even identify the species when the bird is so young with mostly gray plummage.

This youngster was quickly banded and walked back to the net to rejoin its parents and carry on with morning feeding activities.

Above you can see the newly fledged bird's short primary feathers, downy body and newly developing, short tail.

Many feathers are still growing on the throat and face.

Mark, Master Bander of both songbirds and hummingbirds, will be banding hummingbirds at Knoxville's upcoming Wonder of Hummingbirds Festival  held at Ijams Nature Center on Saturday, August 23rd.  Mark your calendars!  Festival visitors will have the opportunity to see hummingbirds upclose, learn more about their nesting and migration habits and enjoy the many expert speakers and vendors that will be present for the event.

Links and Resources:
Hummingbird banding will occur from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the festival, Saturday, August 23rd
For more information visit:  Wonder of Hummingbirds Festival
Hummingbird festival Speaker and Event Schedule
My previous posts on bird banding.
Knoxville Tennessee Ornithological Society
Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, now Seven Islands State Birding Park

Seven Islands Becomes Tennessee's First State Birding Park

Visits to Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge over the past several years rapidly turned this wildlife sanctuary into one of my all-time favorite Tennessee natural areas.

Encompassing more than 410 acres along the French Broad River, this open grassland habitat is planted with native grasses, wildflowers, shrubby fruit-bearing plants, and trees that provide the favored habitat and food sources for many declining grassland bird species.  It was here that I became acquainted with several new species of warblers and sparrows, learned about bird banding and participated with the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) bird banding team in gathering information about the birds that breed and winter on the refuge.  

Today I had the pleasure of attending the Legacy Luncheon for the Parks which took place beside the French Broad River at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.  Speaking to a record crowd of over 700 people who were present to support the work of the Legacy Parks Foundation, special guest, Governor Bill Haslam, announced that Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is becoming Tennessee's 56th state park and the first in an anticipated series of State Birding Parks to be established across Tennessee.

Legacy Parks Foundation Board Chair, Chad Youngblood (below left), honors Pete and Linda Claussen for their generous and dedicated efforts in developing the refuge and fostering its transformation into Seven Islands State Birding Park.  

Among others, Wayne Schacher (below left), former refuge land manager and KTOS member, was recognized for his years of work on the refuge restoring native warm-season grasses, enhancing riparian and wetland areas, and developing habitat diversification for the benefit of wildlife species on the refuge.  In addition to the recreation value of nature trails and a river ramp for launching kayaks and canoes, the refuge has historically offered educational and research opportunities. KTOS has conducted bird banding studies on the refuge for many years.  

It was a special honor to be asked to create a watercolor to commemorate this event for the Legacy Parks Foundation.  The subject of that watercolor is a beautiful warbler that we often see and hear on the refuge--a Common Yellowthroat.

Below you see one of the signed and numbered limited edition prints that decorated the tables at the luncheon.

Myself with Mark Armstrong, Master Bander of songbirds and hummingbirds, past president of the Knoxville Chapter of TOS, and Avian Curator at the Knoxville Zoo. Mark has lead bird banding studies on the refuge for the past several years.

The Legacy Parks Foundation works to assure that our community enjoys exceptional recreational opportunities, natural beauty and open spaces by securing funding for land acquisitions and park improvements, accepting gifts of land, providing maintenance for greenway and conservation easements, and advocating for parks and outdoor recreation.

Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge
Seven Islands - Outdoor Knoxville with map
Legacy Parks Foundation
Seven Islands articles published in The Tennessee Conservationist Magazine
Bird banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge
Knoxville Chapter, Tennessee Ornithological Society
Tennessee State Parks
WATE news coverage with video
Report from Chattanoogan
WBIR video coverage

Bird Banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

What an amazing morning of birds the Knoxville Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) had yesterday at the final MAPS session of the season at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.  

The beautiful male Blue Grosbeak above was one of the many gorgeous birds banded during the morning session that lasted from 5:45 a.m., when nets were put up in darkness, until closing at 11:00 a.m.

Mark Armstrong, above, examining plumage for wear and molt.

MAPS stands for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Program, a program conducted by The Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes Station, California.  The MAPS program is conducted from May to August during breeding season and has specific data collection requirements with a goal of analyzing data to understand how bird populations are changing over time.  The information collected and reported by MAPS banding stations helps scientists to determine causes and effects of environmental change.

Above, Billie Cantwell, President of KTOS.  Below, Billie Cantwell, Mark Armstrong, and Janie Kading.

Seven Islands's Wildlife Refuge, in Knoxville, TN, is a unique grassland habitat and conducts one of the few grassland MAPS stations in the country.  Mark Armstrong, a master bander with a specialist banding permit for hummingbirds, operates the MAPS station during breeding season and during other seasons of the year.  Over 3000 birds have been banded at the refuge over the past three years.

August is the time of the year when the area is filled with juveniles from the current nesting season and also birds that are post breeding and wandering in the area to feed before leaving for more southerly destinations in the fall.  Birds like the House Wren shown in the next two images often turn up in August.

And this is also the time of year for surprises, like the Blue-winged Warbler shown below, a first recorded at the refuge.  Mark Armstrong is shown below with the warbler in hand.

Below the Blue-winged Warbler female, showing a very spunky attitude as she alertly responds to the sounds around her, mostly the banding team's excitement.

Below, Janie Kading and Mark Armstrong study plumage details in reference guides as Mark determines the age and sex of the bird.

The juvenile Orchard Oriole shown below was also banded on Sunday.  Banding studies throughout the year help us learn more about the birds that visit the refuge.  For example, a male Orchard Oriole, recaptured in an April 2010 banding session, was known to have hatched in 2004 from previous banding records.  From this record and known migration patterns, Mark could speculate the following:  "Orchard orioles are listed as a canopy species wintering in the mountains of Mexico to Honduras.  By my calculations this bird has likely crossed the Gulf of Mexico 12 times so far."  Amazing to consider!

Two Worm-eating warblers were also banded during the session, along with four Ruby-throated hummingbirds, a Yellow-breasted chat, Common Yellow throats and numerous sparrows, Indigo Buntings, and others.  In all, 80 birds were process through the banding station in a morning's work.

In addition to the scientific information collected at these sessions, banding often offers an opportunity for children to experience the wonder of birds close up.  

Dawn Johnson, one of the banding team members, introduced her two son's to the banding station on Sunday.  In the images above and below you see her showing her young sons a sparrow that Mark is holding in his hand. In the images that follow she receives and releases the bird, delighting them.  

 Birds provide joy to all ages!

Worm-eating warbler.

Upcoming:
Getting Ready for Alaska!

Links and Resources:
My previous posts on bird banding.
Knoxville Tennessee Ornithological Society
Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge
The Institute for Bird Populations
MAPs Program