Bird populations are dropping Colorado birders help connect dots to figure out why HEAD TOPICS
Bird populations are dropping Colorado birders help connect dots to figure out why
10/22/2022 8:36:00 PM Bird populations are dropping Colorado birders help connect dots to figure out why
Source The Denver Post
Bird populations are dropping Colorado birders help connect dots to figure out why The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and volunteers are helping connect the dots of the path of migrating birds for scientists studying why populations are declining. To catch the birds, 25 nets strung between poles are placed on the shore on one side of Barr Lake, among the cottonwood trees and marshland. The nets, about 12 feet long, are made of a fine, soft nylon mesh called mist netting.A bird will fly headfirst into the net and get its feet caught. Conservancy staffers frequently check the nets, remove the birds, put them in individual cloth bags to try to keep them calm and take them to the banding station. “We try to be pretty quick. Our goal is to get birds in and out of the stations in about a half hour so they can get back on their way,” said Colin Woolley, the bird conservancy’s banding manager.TOP LEFT: Meredith McBurney checks the band numbers on a Wilson’s warbler with magnifying glasses on Sept. 27, 2022. TOP RIGHT: McBurney blows on the feathers of a warbler to check how much fat is on the bird. BOTTOM RIGHT: McBurney holds a House Wren during a daily banding session. BOTTOM LEFT: Volunteer Susan Rosine writes down information on each bird brought in from the nets, such as species, sex, weight, and places its feathers inside an envelope during a daily banding session. (Photos by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post) Read more:
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Life in the mountains hardened me Bird flu has arrived to San Diego CountyThe first case of bird flu has made its way to San Diego County as the infectious disease spreads across the country. Are they going to make the birds wear mask? Newsom is declaring a new state of emergency. Lock it down! Endorsement: We trust Michael Bennet to make good decisions for Colorado To catch the birds, 25 nets strung between poles are placed on the shore on one side of Barr Lake, among the cottonwood trees and marshland.KUT Snake Island is a forest on Lady Bird Lake east of I-35.CNBC.Apollo, an African grey parrot in Florida, delights the internet Apollo is very verbal — and smart, too. The nets, about 12 feet long, are made of a fine, soft nylon mesh called mist netting. A bird will fly headfirst into the net and get its feet caught. KUT listener Alex Kane wanted to know more: What’s on it? Why is it called that? So, Kane reached out to KUT’s ATXplained project . Conservancy staffers frequently check the nets, remove the birds, put them in individual cloth bags to try to keep them calm and take them to the banding station. Health officials explain that bird flu doesn’t jeopardize food safety because infected birds aren’t allowed into the food supply, and properly cooking meat and eggs to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses, according to the AP. “We try to be pretty quick. In this video, Minasi ventures out to the man-made island alongside Staryn Wagner, an environmental scientist with the City of Austin, to experience the peaceful and eccentric culture that has taken root alongside the painted hackberry and cypress trees. Our goal is to get birds in and out of the stations in about a half hour so they can get back on their way,” said Colin Woolley, the bird conservancy’s banding manager. He is two-and-a-half years old, and has feathered family members as well as human ones; Mason and Lacey also own two white-bellied caiques named Soleil and Ophelia, the couple told Fox News Digital by email. TOP LEFT: Meredith McBurney checks the band numbers on a Wilson’s warbler with magnifying glasses on Sept. Your gift pays for everything you find on KUT. 27, 2022. TOP RIGHT: McBurney blows on the feathers of a warbler to check how much fat is on the bird. Thanks for donating today. BOTTOM RIGHT: McBurney holds a House Wren during a daily banding session. BOTTOM LEFT: Volunteer Susan Rosine writes down information on each bird brought in from the nets, such as species, sex, weight, and places its feathers inside an envelope during a daily banding session. (@apolloandfrens ) Apollo can distinguish between metal and glass — clearly pronouncing each word — and he knows colors, too, among other skills. (Photos by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post) A 2011 study into the safety of the nets found the average rate of injury to birds was 0.59% and the mortality rate was 0.23% based on 20 years of records from 22 bird-banding organizations. The banding typically starts just before sunrise and lasts about five hours. "It was originally published by German ethologist Dietmar Todt, but was popularized by Dr. Woolley said the work will end early if the weather is hot. The birders roll up all the nets each day before they leave. About 1,100 birds were banded at Barr Lake in 2021. Early this week, McBurney said roughly 1,700 had been banded this fall. “One of my favorite things about fall is we get waves of migratory birds coming through,” Woolley said.F. “It starts with hummingbirds and shore birds, some of the grosbeaks and orioles. Warblers have been really busy over the last two weeks.” Some of the smallest birds fly the longest distances, Woolley said. The breeding grounds for some Wilson’s warblers stretch into Canada and Alaska. They’ll migrate to Mexico, Costa Rica or South America." "As a more passive means of training," noted Mason,"we talk with him as if he were a member of the household, [almost] as if he were our young son . Barr Lake State Park is a magnet for birds that need food and rest. “If you think about the surrounding area, it’s either kind of degraded grassland or developments,” Woolley said. Dale Campau, a volunteer with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, left, and Emily Munch, banding trainee, head back to the banding station with birds during daily banding sessions at Barr Lake State Park in Brighton on Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Helen H. "Apollo is ‘bonded’ with us, though he prefers Dalton," said Victoria Lacey of their beloved pet. Richardson/The Denver Post) Where have all the birds gone? What is the condition of birds’ habitat — where they breed, eat and rest — and is it behind the population decreases? That’s one of the critical questions the Bird Genoscape Project hopes to answer. Scientists were trying to figure out why a population of Wilson’s warblers whose breeding grounds were in California was declining. McBurney said they discovered that the birds’ wintering grounds had become a tourist area and a lot of the habitat was “taken out.” Loss of habitat is a big culprit in the loss of bird populations, Job of the genoscape project said. “Deforestation, transfer of land to new development, oil and gas development: all of the reasons that habitat is being destroyed is hurting birds. "He is also very close with our other parrots and many of our friends and family. ” Related Articles .