![]() It was captured by us along with 13 other Purple Finches and a House Finch on, banded, and released. The second Purple Finch (#1571-50273) accumulated a few more years and many more miles after visiting Hilton Pond Center. Dey checked over the dead bird, read the band number, and reported it to the banding lab. One of these (#1571-50205) didn't get to wander very far it was banded on and five days later flew into a picture window outside the home of Florence Dey, who lives scarcely a half mile from Hilton Pond. On the banding lab printout documenting Betty's encounter were reports of two Purple Finches. (Betty is keeping vigil to see whether she can spot the banded bird again this summer prior to fall migration.) All of this raises some interesting questions about whether this particular bird found South Carolina winters to be balmier than those just across the border, or whether he was just stopping off at Betty's place on his way to breed even even further north. Interestingly, this House Finch was banded at Hilton Pond in mid-winter () and showed up at Betty's place 27 miles to the north at the peak of the breeding season. As a result we were able to call Betty and get her first-hand observations described above. Last week, Betty received a Certificate of Appreciation (sample, below left) from the banding lab with information about where and when the House Finch was banded, and Hilton Pond Center got a printout with details of where and when the recapture was made, and by whom. Then she dutifully contacted the banding lab (via phone at 1-800-217-BAND, or on-line at the BBL Web site). ![]() In early May of this year, Betty noticed that a reddish male House Finch in her yard had a band on his left leg and, being curious about his origin, borrowed some mist nets to try to capture the bird.Īfter days of rain and missed attempts, Betty finally netted the House Finch on 23 May, carefully read and recorded his band number (1571-51472), and released the bird. When she gets off work, Betty drives home to Iron Station, North Carolina, where she maintains feeders frequented by the usual assortment of seed-eating birds. Betty also holds a bird banding subpermit and helps with spring banding projects at some of the Charlotte- Mecklenburg parks. ![]() The most recent encounter was reported by Betty O'Leary, who works at the Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte NC as the Education Bird Coordinator. Just this week, in fact, we got a "Report to Bander" (below right) from the federal Bird Banding Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland that one of our House Finches (hatch-year male, top photo) and two Purple Finches had been reported by finders. It shouldn't be surprising that these two species are also the most likely to be recaptured or found elsewhere in all, 14 House Finches and 11 Purple Finches have been encountered outside York County. Our most commonly banded birds at Hilton Pond are House Finches (6,744) and Purple Finches (5,673) together they make up 29% of all birds captured locally, and many have returned in subsequent years. As we see it, these low numbers are definitely not a waste of time, especially since our 21-year study has given us ample opportunity to recapture many of our own birds year after year after year. and Canadian banders- including those who handle waterfowl and other game birds shot by hunters-the annual average for foreign recoveries is close to 1%-2%, while our miniscule total during more than two decades of banding at Hilton Pond stands at 0.165%. That look of surprise is usually followed by some indication of disappointment, as if 71 of 43,000 was some sort of failure on our part, or even a waste of our time. All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Then they ask how many of our birds have been found somewhere else after banding, and almost always a surprised expression comes across their faces when we say that, as of this week, only 45 have been reported from outside our home county of York, and 26 more within the county. They seem impressed to hear that, since 1982, we've captured and released almost 43,000 birds of 123 species. Whenever we tell folks that Hilton Pond Center is the most active permanent bird banding site in the Carolinas, they typically ask how many birds we have banded.
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