Banding allows us to know where our birds travel and how long they live.

Banding Birds

Banding began in 1981 with Don Stiles banding as a sub-permittee under Cam Finlay.  Don acquired his own permit (no. 10488) in 1985 with one sub-permittee, Ray Woods. 

In 2019 we converted to 10925 Station Permit, with , Bob Cooper handling the adminsitrative duties. About one third of CANMS monitors currently band their birds.

45,405 Mountain Bluebirds and 39,559 Tree Swallows were banded between 1981 to 2019.  Because many banders concentrate on banding Mountain Bluebirds as their first priority, more Mountain Bluebirds than Tree Swallows are banded.

Within the Annual Reports section is a record of Banding Highlights, a compilation of the banding recapture/recoveries and other items of interest to banders. 

Interestingly, most recaptures/recoveries occur within five km of their banding location. 

In some years, banded birds are recaptured/recovered outside of Alberta while they are migrating to or are on their wintering grounds.

Become a Licensed Bird Bander

New Bander Qualification… 

The following are prerequisites to complete before applying to the Canadian Bird Banding Office (BBO) for a sub-permitee, banding license under CANMS’s 10925 Station Permit. 

  1. Demonstrate safe handing of birds.

  2. Band at least 200 birds over 2 years.

  3. Band at least 25 adult birds.

  4. Work under the close supervision of at least 2 licensed banders.

  5. Demonstrate accurate record and data collection.

  6. If possible, attend an Introduction to Banding Workshop… like the weekend course offered by Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Victoria or the Calgary Bird Banding Society or by alternate groups such as the North American Banding Council.

  7. Obtain testimonial forms by two licensed, bander-sponsors to document and confirm the above requirements have been met.

More Info

Birds Banded Each Year

Most trail monitors are not licensed banders so the number of birds banded is only on a few trails. Our banders do an amazing job of banding our hatchlings and reporting birds that they recapture!

MOBL BANDING

TRES BANDING

Recaptures

  • Shonna McLeod’s Highlight: Caught the same female Bluebird in the same box 4 years in a row. Astounding! A mountain bluebird with fantastic nestbox fidelity.

    Bob Cooper’s Highlight: After Hatch Year Female MOBL 2951-01515 banded by Susanne Maidment last year June 18 has been encountered twice on my Hermitage Rd Trail.

    a. Nest box 26. May 18, first encounter incubating two eggs

    b. Nest box 26. May 31, I discovered she had been evicted by a TRES who had started to build her nest on top of the 2 MOBL eggs. Since the TRES nest was incomplete (no egg cup) I felt it would be ok to dig down in the box to see if the MOBL eggs were still there. …..They were.

    c. Nest Box 25, Jun 02, Second encounter, I found 2951-01515 had laid five eggs in nest box 25. What a trooper – lose your home and family, move a couple hundred feet and build another.”

    Donna Wieckowski: 2022 Longest Distance Recapture was found at Dog Pound as an adult TRES 32.4 km away from where it was banded by Dick Stauffer (Olds, June 27, 2018, band number 1921-88084).

  • MOBL Recapture Many Hands Help a Bluebird (a heart-warming story)

    This past summer a landowner near the Millarville Racetrack found an adult Mountain Bluebird that looked healthy but appeared unable to fly. The bird was gently placed in a box. A local couple generously offered their time and gas to drive the bird to Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (CWRS), the local wildlife rehabilitation center.

    The adult female MOBL was admitted to CWRS July 19, 2021. There were no obvious signs of injury, but the bird could benefit from nutritional support as it was beginning its yearly molt. For 2.5 days it was provided with food, supplements, and water, along with a warm safe place to live. The bird responded quickly to treatment and ready to return to its wild home. On July 22, 2021, a CWRS volunteer drove the bird back to the field where it had been found. Upon release, the bird immediately flew in a strong and purposeful manner to nearby trees. A successful rehabilitation story!

    Because this bird had a band with a unique number on it (2771-77070), the number can be reported. You can report a recaptured or recovered band bird to Don Stiles or at Banded Bird Encounter Reporting: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/bblretrv. Don Stiles was informed that the bird had been banded in June 2020 by a local bander. 2771-77070 was banded as a nestling on June 25, 2020, in Box 35 on Rocky Butte Rd (Bearspaw Rd. north of Calgary about 4 km S of Hwy 567). The bird was found 57.5 km almost directly south of where it had been banded. Pat, your bird is doing well!

    MOBL Photography Recapture:

    MOBL 2471-59737 was banded as an adult in 2021 by Barry Trakalo. Moved 2 km. MOBL 2771-76968 was banded as a nestling in 2018 by Bert Gracey. Moved 2 km.

    Here is the methodology used by Santisouk Photography:

    “I just drive the back roads in hope of finding any birds or wildlife and landscape. When I stumble on a banded bird, I try to get different angles and sit in my vehicle a few posts back until I think I have all the numbers by looking at the screen on my camera. It usually takes about 15 min. When I first arrive, the birds fly away and then slowly come back. Sometimes I must wait a long time for that to happen. But it’s worth it. Also, it’s important to be a few posts away and that’s when camera technology comes in handy.” Most bands are found on a bird’s right leg because most banders are right-handed.

    Long Distance Tree Swallow Recaptures

    1. The longest distance TRES we had was 1921-21913, banded in 2020 by Bill Taylor W. of the Bar U (Hwy 540 W. of Hwy 22), moved 92 km N.N.W. to Bob Cooper’s trail in the Jumping Pound Area.

    Recapture of a non-CANMS banded TRES on a CANMS Trail

    1. TRES 2591-67797 was banded as a young in 2019 by Doug Collister on his acreage near Water Valley and recaptured by Donna Wieckowski on her trail in the Dogpound area, having moved 14.4 km E.N.E.

  • Ron Reist Highlights

    • As happened two years ago, I was able to catch both male and female MOBL parents at a box (#61). Ibanded both birds in box 211b (2.3 km away) as young in 2018 – female 2471-59195, male 2471-59197 –thereby proving they are siblings (Editor’s note: Very interesting observation. There may be other possible interpretations of this data).

    • I was able to recapture a male (2471-59509) in box 139b – I banded him as a nestling in the same box. This is the first time I have recorded a fledgling returning to the box where he was banded to start his own family.

    • I recaptured three of four birds I banded as nestlings in 2018 in box DS19b. One was recaptured by me (89), one by Dick Stauffer (290), and one by Ken McNeil (291 - see #1 in Long-Distance recapture/recoveries table).

    • I recaptured five birds banded on other trails: three were banded by Don Stiles (avg. 10 km movement) and two by Dick Stauffer (avg. 20 km movement).

    • I captured 38 male MOBLs, 22 needed banding, 16 were recaptured.

    Long-Distance Mountain Bluebird (MOBL) Recaptures

    1. 2791-65291 was banded in 2019 by Ron Reist east of Olds and moved 133.5 km south to Ken McNeil’s trail east of Black Diamond.

    2. 2471-37853 was banded in 2019 by Shonna McLeod southwest of Calgary and was recaptured by Dick Stauffer west of Olds, having moved 112 km north.

    3. 2471-61152 was banded in 2018 by Anne Weerstra NNE of Morley and recaptured by Mary Jane Hunter west of Longview, having moved 85.5 km southeast.

    4. 2261-75189 was banded in 2019 by Don Stiles east of Didsbury and recaptured by Shaye Hill of Ellis Bird Farm, having moved 81.7 km north.

    5. 2471-59163 was banded in 2018 by Ron Reist east of Olds and recaptured by Pat Mitchell south of Lochend Lake, having moved 66.3 km southwest.

    6. 2471-37819 was banded in 2019 by Shonna McLeod southwest of Calgary and recaptured by Donna Wieckowski in the Dogpound area, having moved 62 km north.

    Note: All 6 of the above were banded as young.

    Long Distance Tree Swallow (TRES) Recaptures

    TRES 2621-96182 was banded in 2018 as a young by Bill Taylor southwest of Calgary and was recovered by Dick Stauffer west of Olds, having moved 103 km north.

    The remainder of the recaptured TRES moved 40 km or less.

    Tree Swallow (TRES) Recoveries by CANMS Members

    Oldest Birds

    The oldest MOBL recaptured was 5 years old. Usually we have at least one 6 year-old MOBL.

    There were only four 5 year-old MOBL recaptured this year. Two were banded by Ron Reist and two by Shonna McLeod.

    The oldest TRES recaptured was 8 years old. This bird, TRES 2511-86266, was banded as a young in 2012 by Marijke Jalink. This bird was also recaptured in the same box or nearby in 2017 and 2018.

    Seven TRES were recaptured at 6 years old. One of these, TRES 2591-78648, banded as an adult in 2015 by Ron Reist has been recaptured in the same box every year since – 6 years in a row!

    Data from the Public

    Recapture:

    MOBL 2471-59347 was read by a telescope by Aaron Everingham 8 km southwest of Torrington. It was banded as a young in 2018 by Ron Reist and moved about 3.5 km southwest.