Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, May 10, 2008
Researchers round up birds for study on migratory patterns
TOWN OF FARMINGTON, Wis. — Melissa Meier held the white-throated sparrow in her left hand, her index and middle fingers over its wings. With her other hand, she fed the bird from a box of Juicy Juice.
The bird had had a rough morning.
After flying into one of the researchers’ mist nets, it was scooped up and put in a white cotton bag. Then Meier, a wildlife biologist, drew blood samples from under the bird’s wing, fastened a numbered aluminum band to its leg, plopped it head-first into a plastic bottle, weighed it, and snapped its picture. She blew on the bird’s belly feathers to check its body fat.
She opened her hand to release it, and the sparrow sat on her palm.
“You need to rest,” she said, putting the bird back in the sack and tucking it under her sweatshirt to warm up.
Meier and other researchers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, based at Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, spent about three hours early Friday monitoring seven nets on a hillside in Amundson Coulee.
Their work was part of an ongoing study of migratory songbirds designed to determine the quality of habitat along the Mississippi River.
By studying the birds’ blood samples, researchers can tell whether they’re healthy and eating well. They also evaluate the birds’ size, weight and breeding conditions. And once the birds are banded, their movements can be tracked over time. The scientists even have recaptured birds they banded three years ago.
“We know waterfowl follow available waterways,” said Melinda Knutson, a FWS wildlife biologist. The scientists hope to find out if land birds are using the same corridor.
Specifically, the scientists want to compare floodplains and upland forest habitats to see if the birds prefer one over the other, said Pat Hegland, the study’s lead biologist.
The data gathered by the field studies also can be combined with National Weather Service radar images, which show butterfly-shaped blooms in spots along the river where masses of birds take flight at night.
The hillside echoed with cheeps and chirps. Cloth bags hung on nearby branches rustled occasionally as captive birds got restless.
The study primarily was focused on catbirds, ovenbirds and white-throated sparrows, but American redstarts, blue-winged warblers, and a least flycatcher, among other species, turned up in the nets.
Chris Calogero opened her palm to reveal a ruby-throated hummingbird, its emerald wings folded and its body vibrating as its heart pumped 1,200 beats a minute. The tiny bird remained motionless as it was transferred to another palm, then sprang to life and buzzed away. (Hummingbirds aren’t banded in this study.)
After a few minutes, Meier removed the sparrow she had warmed under her sweatshirt and untied the cloth bag. She held the bird in her open palm.
“Go recuperate,” she said as the bird hopped away into the underbrush.
Songbird count
Researchers catalogued nine species of songbirds Friday morning during a site study in Amundson Coulee. They found:
American redstart, 2
Blue-winged warbler, 2
Least flycatcher, 1
House wren, 1
Ovenbird, 5
Gray catbird, 4
Eastern towhee, 1
Swainson’s thrush, 1
White-throated sparrow, 3
Chris Hubbuch can be reached at chris.hubbuch@lee.net or (608) 791-8217.
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