South Okanagan bird observatory back in the banding business after brief hiatus

Last year was the first time in 20 years a South Okanagan bird observatory wasn’t able to track bird migration, but the station is up and running again with nearly 1,000 birds banded so far this year. Jason Jones has been tracking birds for 35 years in North and South America, and now he volunteers at the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory https://osca.org/vaseux-lake-bird-observatory/ to pass along his knowledge to keen volunteers. To catch the birds, in order to collect data and band them, the observatory uses mist nets that are nearly invisible if you aren’t looking out for them. “These nets are hard to see when you are moving at the speed that a bird flies at. And we also regularly catch volunteers who aren't paying attention where they're walking,” he said. Once birds are caught they are given a band, kind of like an anklet, with a unique serial number on it. A trained volunteer then identifies the bird, records its size and weight and sets it free again within 15 minutes. So far the volunteers have recorded data on nearly 1,000 birds, but Jones expects to band around 1,600 which is on par for the station’s average. “Our number one priority is bird safety,” he said. “It's our responsibility as scientists, as professionals, to minimize that stress to the degree that we can, and to make sure that the data we collect are clean, accurate and collected quickly so that the stress to the bird is worth it.”   Bird banding helps researchers understand bird migration patterns, reproduction and the overall health of the bird populations. READ MORE: South Okanagan photograph wins first place in national contest https://infotel.ca/newsitem/south-okanagan-photograph-wins-first-place-in-national-contest/it106478 The data collected by the observatory is compiled along with bird migration data from across the country which is then made publicly available through the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network. “There is that phrase, the canary in a coal mine for a reason,” he said. “We can use bird populations as indicators of broader concerns, climate change, changing weather patterns. They really are a bellwether of some of those things because they are so closely tied to things like insect populations, rainfall and temperatures.”         https://www.instagram.com/p/C-9HSqbvNyI/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading View this post on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/C-9HSqbvNyI/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading                      A post shared by Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory (@vaseuxlakebirds) https://www.instagram.com/p/C-9HSqbvNyI/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading Jones said it’s important to collaborate with other researchers across political borders to get a full picture of what is going on with bird populations. There is a new program for bird monitoring called Motus which uses radio towers to receive signals from tagged birds, a program which is only possible because of widespread collaboration. “It's critically important, particularly within what are called flyways, and so there are four or five general geographic pathways that migratory birds follow,” he said. “When you compare data from stations within flyways you get a very good sense of where the birds are going, what are they doing.” The Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory doesn’t have the funding to set up the Motus system, and it wasn’t able to operate last year because of a lack of volunteers. “But at most of these stations, because it's primarily a volunteer run or a grant-based budget, you don't always have the dollars you want to action all your dreams,” he said. “We run the station on a shoestring, and it really is only due to the work of volunteers that we can open it all.” He said people who want to help the birds can donate to the observatory's parent organization the Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Alliance https://osca.org/ , and volunteer at the station, but they can also do things at home. “Keep their cats inside, put markers up on their windows to reduce the potential for window strikes with birds, provide, and this is critical in the South Okanagan, put out a birdbath, provide a clean source of water. Where I live outside of Oliver, there is no standing fresh water within a kilometre of me,” he said.    Jones said his favourite part about researching birds has changed over the years. “When you see them for the first time it's frightening, because they're tiny, right? They're much more delicate than you think they are,” he said. “You realize that this bird that weighs less than a nickel is going to migrate all the way to Mexico. You get that sort of newfound awe and respect for the beauty of these creatures and how well adapted they are to their environment.” READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Funny wildlife moments in Thompson-Okanagan (part three) https://infotel.ca/newsitem/in-photos-funny-wildlife-moments-in-thompson-okanagan-part-three/it106305 He then started to focus on the importance of data. “It's great to collaborate with other researchers at different locations on similar questions, and that focus on the data really heightens your focus on the welfare of the bird that you're holding, but also the welfare of the population and the health of the species,” he said. But now, 35 years into his career, he enjoys educating the keen volunteers and visitors at the observatory. “It's the ability to share what I've learned over the last three decades with folks who, you know, some of them are very experienced, but then, you know, seeing a kid's face light up when they get to release a hummingbird or a junco or a chickadee, and you sort of hook a convert for life, so to speak,” he said. The bird observatory is having its open house on Sept. 22, but Jones said people are welcome to come by and see the action for themselves whenever the station is open. Click here for the bird observatory’s website. https://osca.org/vaseux-lake-bird-observatory/ To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. 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