Banded Martin- update - PHOTO now Attached

[ToyinPA]

Friday night around 7:00 PM we went out to watch the martins, as there was allot of rukus going on. I had new SY's show up.

I grabbed my camera & just started snapping pics. Later as I was looking at the pics I noticed one had a red band on it's left leg. I was not able to see the number. I think it is a female.

We watched all weekend to see if we could spot her again. No luck, so far. She could be here, but it's real hard to see the band, as they sort of hunker when they sit on the power lines. Or she may have been stopping for the night & pushed on.

I haven't had time to off load the pics from my camera yet, but will try later tonight & post the pic.

This is the first baned martin I have seen at my site.

Anyone know of martins with red bands?

Toy in PA

[D. Doll MN]

We put red bands on in MN, one leg has the Aluminum Federal band and the red band on the other leg. If it is a MN banded bird a little ways from the seam there will be a MN side ways then a gap with a alphabetical letter a gap followed by thee numbers. It is always interesting to get a report of someone spotting a red band because it makes you think it could be one of mine still coming home or maybe not even from our state.

[DebA]

I knew I had read something in the PM Update, the latest edition. On page 1, last paragraph is titled "Look for Banded Martins". It talks about color bands but does not say what color. They have a two letter state abbrev and then a combo of four letters and numbers. Gave example of PA A123. They talk about some martins were fitted with geolocator tracking devices. You probably have the magazine but I cannot stop typing. They are especially anxious to get reports from the tri-state area around Erie PA because last year they fitted over 100 geolocators. They say to email PMCA - [email protected] or 814-833-7656.

Wonder if you'll see her again. I hope so.

Deb

[D. Doll MN]

That is true about the different color bands for the geo-locator study in Pa. they were asking for help because they didn't expect the Martins to return to the location they were banded at. And you have to retrieve the Geo from the martin to get the information. We installed 41 Geo-locatores on martins in MN last year and they had red bands on one leg and we did not get them all back yet. So by you saying you seen a red band on a Martin that is no longer around gives me hope it could be a real late returning geo MN bird.

[Martin man RI]

CT uses red and silver. ---Ray

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Not seeing a federal band on this martin makes me think it was not banded by a licensed bander and if that is true it will be difficult to determine who banded it.

Tim

[Don]

There should have been a federal band on the other leg. If this was banded by a licensed bander the bander made a mistake. He/she should not have released that bird until the federal band was on. Bander's rule of thumb..always put the federal band on first.

[Hanover Bill]

Hi Toy;

Band aside, that's a great photo, talk about stop action. I need to get a camera that will do that.

Hanover Bill.

[Louise Chambers]

Color bands on martins can be many colors, most often they are purple, red, or gold. I agree this is probably an illegally banded bird due to lack of aluminum federal band on other leg - too bad, as this bird can't tell it's full story. Great spotting and photo on your part, Toy.

[ToyinPA]

Only seeing one band made me wonder if this was a legally banded bird. Unless she was from Canada? Do they use 2 bands?

Still no sign of her. She may have moved on north or it's also possible she could be at a larger site (Amish) south of me. Several SY's came in that day & some have left, some are still here & a few new ones showed up yesterday. I do hope she comes back. If she does I'll try to get more pics of her.

One of the new SY males found a mate & they are starting nest building this morning.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with a 70-30mm lens, set on sports action.

Toy in PA

[Don]

I believe the Canadians still use bands issued by the US FWL banding laboratory.

That bird could have received a legal band. The MN color bands I use are red and that band looks legit. How could it legally get a color band and no federal band? Occasionally they do get loose while you are preparing to close the band. A good bander will let the bird go unbanded rather than risk injuring the bird while trying to grab it. The color band could have been put in place first and the bird escaped when the bander was applying the federal band. That is why my rule is federal band first then color band. If the bird gets loose it is a legally banded bird without a color band. The reverse puts the color band in limbo.

The color bands are easier to read than federal band but you really need a good spotting scope to read them.

[Don Strickland]

My question is:
What would a person gain by putting on an illegal band??????
I'm thinking that someone just failed to complete the job.
Don S.

[Louise Chambers]

If someone puts their own bands on their birds, the one thing they might learn is how many fledglings return to their natal site as SY and ASY birds later on, which seems to be the question most landlords want answered - 'how many of these birds will come back to my colony site?'

Banding data has answered that question, which is typically from 3-10% of fledges will return to their natal site as SY birds. (I am pulling those numbers from memory, it may be slightly more than 10%)

Legal bands contain so much more information than that - they can tell the age of the bird, distance the bird ends up nesting from its natal site, etc.

[Glynn B - LA]

Are you guy's sure that's not a silver band on the right leg? It looks like one to me.

[Don]

There is no silver band on the bird. The bird obviously is decelerating. Look where the red band is on the leg. The federal band if present would be equally loose fitting and a loose fitting band will be against the feet as is demonstrated by the red band.