Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area and Chadron State Park saw a lot of birds this fall migration season. From Aug. 24 to Oct. 15, staff banded nearly 700 songbirds between the two stations.
Bird banding is the process of capturing wild birds and placing a uniquely numbered band around one leg before releasing them back into the wild. After each bird receives its aluminum accessory, the bander records the species, age, sex, wing and tail measurements, fat presence, molt (replacement of feathers) and weight.
The primary reason for banding birds is to tell individuals apart and, through recaptures, learn more about an individual’s migratory routes and habitat preferences.
In certain situations, evaluating an individual’s body condition can tell scientists whether stopover spots had plenty of food or if the bird struggled on its journey due to limited resources or natural disasters, such as wildfires. Ultimately, by examining this data, scientists may be able to see changes in bird populations over time. One example could be the timing of migration due to climate change.
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Delayed migration can increase competition among bird species, since some birds may stay in their breeding grounds longer, reducing resources left for other birds migrating through that area. This creates a domino effect that could threaten the ability of North American migratory songbirds to successfully mate, raise healthy offspring and survive. Information gathered from banding will help scientists better address the challenges that face migratory birds.
The Wildcat Hills banding station began operation in 2007, while the Chadron station began in 2008, each running every fall since.
The Wildcat Hills station banded 527 birds this fall. Of the 38 species banded, the most common included the black-capped chickadee, house finch and Gambel’s white-crowned sparrow. Special visitors included the Baltimore x Bullock’s hybrid — a first for the Wildcat Hills station — Tennessee warblers, a pink-sided junco and a Townsend’s warbler. It was a great year for Townsend’s solitaires, with nine individuals banded.
Only 165 birds were banded at Chadron, its lowest total since 2012. Factors that may have hindered numbers included the extreme heat into late September, rough winds throughout the season and the lack of mature habitat since the 2012 fire at Chadron State Park. Of the 34 species of birds banded, the most common included the black-capped chickadee, house wren and orange-crowned warbler. The rarest species include American redstart, indigo bunting, Townsend’s solitaire and willow flycatcher.
The banding stations are operated and funded through a partnership between Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Environmental Trust. While the scientific goal is to gather data, the stations also have been essential in building broader support for bird conservation among Nebraskans across the Panhandle.
At these banding stations, hands-on activities and interactive experiences have promoted science literacy among students and provided opportunities to connect with nature. And with scientists working on site, visitors are offered views of what research looks like, hopefully creating new career connections among aspiring students. Between Wildcat Hills SRA and Chadron SP, 400 students and adults visited in 2022.
