Virtual Tour of Powdermill
Avian Research Center
Tour our Bird Banding and
Research Facilities
Bird Banding Station
In season, hundreds of birds are caught each day in PARC’s
70, 12 meter long mist nets. Captured birds are carefully
removed throughout the day and returned to the banding lab for
processing.
Birds are identified to species, banded, and information
about their age, sex, wing length, fat deposits, and body mass
is recorded. Studies of molt in birds is of particular interest
at PARC, so detailed notes regarding the pattern, timing, and
sequence of molt is also often recorded. The banding and data
collection process takes less than a minute, after which most
birds are promptly released through a small sliding door in the
window next to the banding desk. Visit our
Bird Banding page to
learn more.
Our
Banding Summaries page
presents up-to-date bird banding summaries using a computerized
database which is the first of its kind in the field.
Researchers interested in fuller access to banding data should
Contact PARC for more
information.
Photo Tour of Net Lanes
Back
Field Nets
Bear Crossing Nets
Feeder Nets
Long Lane Nets
Pond Nets
Strip Mine Nets
See Larger Map
Bioacoustical
Studies of Migrating Birds
Some of the birds captured for
banding are held for a short additional time to assist in
bioacoustical studies. At PARC, our acoustics lab includes
a sound chamber and use of Raven interactive sound analysis
software, developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The goal is to isolate bird calls clear of
environmental noises and build a library of vocalizations that can be used
for further research and migration studies. Ultimately, automated
field monitoring stations will be able to record and match the vocalizations
of migrating birds in a way that will greatly augment banding studies.
Visit our Bioacoustic Research page to learn more.
Flight Tunnel
Millions of birds die every year flying into windows, because they can’t
tell reflections form trees, plants, and sky. Most of these windows are on
houses. In partnership with the American Bird Conservancy, PARC is
studying bird behavior in a specially built flight tunnel (one of only two
of its kind in the world).
The flight tunnel is completely safe and there is no chance of birds
actually striking a pane of glass. A variety of commercially available
windows are undergoing trials to determine which treatments best alleviate
the possibility of bird strikes. Each bird makes one flight down the
tunnel and is immediately released. Visit our
Flight Tunnel page to
learn more.
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