Fwd: Call to birders and wildlife photographers - Researchers need your help looking for marked brant!

Citizen Science project

-----Original Message-----
From: Stiller, Joshua C (DEC) <joshua.stiller@dec.ny.gov>

Sent: Wed, Nov 14, 2018 9:20 am
Subject: Call to birders and wildlife photographers - Researchers need your help looking for marked brant!

Good morning,

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is requesting your group's help resighting Atlantic brant with color markers and transmitters.  We would greatly appreciate it if you could share this note with your members.

Last year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) kicked-off a 5-year collaborative Atlantic brant migration and breeding ecology study with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Crews began marking brant with GPS transmitters and plastic colored tarsal bands with tiny geolocators attached to them. Colored bands with geolocators have a 3 digit alphanumeric code on them.  The geolocators themselves are clear, plastic electronics about the size of a "fat nickel" and are with a plastic cable lock tie.  Also, crews this winter will begin marking brant with two colored leg bands instead of one.  These colored bands will have only one number/letter instead of 3; that way they can be read from a farther distance. 

 

Figure 1- Colored leg band with a geolocator

Figure 2- GPS transmitter

Figure 3- New leg bands that will be deployed this winter, one on each leg

How can you help?

Resightings and/or photographs of color banded and transmittered birds are very helpful to the study. 

1. If you see a brant with a colored leg band(s), please report the observation to the Bird Banding Laboratory at www.reportband.gov. Under the "what" tab of the reporting form, select "Color marker only (neck collar, wing tag, colored leg band, etc.)".  After you enter the report information, the website will also give you the option of uploading photographs of the bird; if you were able to capture a picture of the bird and marker, please upload your photo!  If you observe one of the birds with two colored leg bands later this winter or in subsequent years of this project, please note the color of each band, color of the lettering, the number/letter on each band, and which leg each band was on (right or left leg of the bird).  When you complete the report, the bird banding lab will e-mail you a certificate of appreciation for your time and assistance. 
2. If you see a bird with a transmitter, but NO color leg band, please send an e-mail to Joshua.Stiller@dec.ny.gov to report your observation.  Pictures of the bird would be greatly appreciated.

 

For more information on the study, please visit the DEC website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/115179.html

 

If you have any additional questions, please let me know.  We greatly appreciate your assistance on this research project!

Josh

Josh Stiller

Wildlife Biologist, Migratory Game Birds, Bureau of Wildlife

 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754

P: (518) 402-8861 | F: (518) 402-8925 | Joshua.Stiller@dec.ny.gov

 

www.dec.ny.gov |  |