Introduction to Scribing

Jon Van Arragon

Beaverhill Bird Observatory

What is Bird Banding?

• Bird banding is a research technique where a metal band engraved with a 9-digit serial number is placed on a bird’s leg
• These numbers are unique and won’t be repeated on any other bird band in North America
• The Beaverhill Bird Observatory has been banding birds since 1984, and birds banded at our station have been found as far away as Colombia!

Why do we Band Birds?

• Bird banding can allow researchers to learn about:
• Bird movements and migratory routes
• Longevity records and lifespans for different species
• Bird population trends
• The survival and productivity of local breeders
• And more!
• Volunteers are an integral part of our research, especially scribes!

In 2017, a Baltimore Oriole we banded at the BBO got recovered in Colombia!

The Bander’s Code of Ethics

1. Ensure the respect, safety, and welfare of birds and their populations, people, and the environment.
• Handle each bird carefully, gently, quietly, and in minimum time; capture and process only as many birds as you can safely handle given your ability and the environmental conditions
• Follow safety procedures as outlined in NABC materials and constantly innovate ways to conduct operations more safely
• Follow the NABC Code of Conduct to help guide professional behavior
2. Design or use appropriate studies, methods, and analyses to advance a valid scientific purpose.
• Collect accurate data and submit to an appropriate data repository
• Collaborate to maximize data collection and to avoid duplicating effort
• Promote and contribute to projects using standardized protocols when appropriate

The Bander’s Code of Ethics

3. Be accountable and strive for high standards.
• Engage in self-assessment and invite assessments from others to ensure that your work is beyond reproach
• Share knowledge and offer honest and constructive feedback to others to improve skills and banding practices
4. Obtain all necessary permits and permissions; understand and adhere to the conditions, responsibilities, and limitations thereof.

What is Scribing?

• Scribing is recording the data a bird bander collects during processing
• At the BBO, most of our data gets recorded by entering it directly into a Google Spreadsheet
• This is the single most important role at any banding station: if the data we collect isn’t recorded accurately, it loses its value for bird conservation
• Scribing allows you to get familiar with what goes on at a banding station while developing useful skills
• Computer skills: particularly Microsoft Excel
• Attention to detail
• Communication
• Learning the process of bird banding and the measurements involved

What is an Event Shift?

• Depending on the day you sign up for, we may be hosting bird banding events for members of the public. These shifts will say “EVENT SHIFT” in all caps in their description so you know to expect a crowd!
• During events, we need extra help with setup and cleanup. Helping staff by keeping the hot water containers filled, along with helping wash any dishes after the fact is greatly appreciated!
• There may be less time to practice bird handling during an event, but you also get the unique experience of helping connect the public with nature

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Example Sheet – Click Here!

• This is a copy of the spreadsheet we use for scribing at the BBO
• Take a quick look at this, we’ll come back to it later for the quiz
• If you’d like to know what specific data fields mean, navigate over to the band size ‘O’ tab and click on the column headers for a brief description

Spreadsheet Navigation: Band Sizes

• Bird bands come in all kinds of sizes, and each band size has its own data entry page within the spreadsheet
• You can find the tabs for each band size at the bottom of the window, highlighted in the red box below

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Spreadsheet Navigation: Band Sizes

• You won’t know what band size is being used until the bird has been identified, so wait until then to start entering data!
• If you need to look up a bird’s band size, there are cheat sheets on the banding bench and the wall

Spreadsheet Navigation: Recaptures

• Any bird that already has a band when we catch it gets its data entered under the ‘Recaptures’ tab

Spreadsheet Navigation: Unbanded Birds

• If a bird escapes or is released without a band, we enter it under the ‘Unbanded’ tab

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• The first thing to record is the number on the bird’s band, and this is also the most important data to get right!

Band numbers are 9 digits long, with a 4-digit prefix and a 5-digit suffix separated by a dash

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• It is best to type the band number in manually for each bird
• Dragging this number down from the cell above can lead to errors that are very difficult to fix

The bander will read the last 3 digits of the bird’s band number to you; it is your responsibility to make sure the digits they read are in sequence with the previous band

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• Band numbers should always come in numeric sequence, except for when a new string of bands gets opened

Here the band number jumps from 2960-58964 to 2960-58966. This is a big problem, as we have no idea what happened to the middle band!

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• Each bird species has its own unique 4-letter species code
• Cheat sheets for these codes are found on the wall and the banding bench

Don’t type anything in the ‘Species Name’ column, it autofills by itself. If the species name doesn’t look right, let the bander know!

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• Always type in the date manually, don’t copy it from another cell
• Enter capture times in 24-hour, hh:mm format

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Record the capture time in 24-hour format

Type these in manually

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• Make sure you are entering data on the correct band size tab and in the correct data file!
• The 3 fields at the end of the spreadsheet autofill, but you may need to type something in manually from time to time.

These fields autofill, but the bander might have you change them

Always make sure you have the right band size selected

Tips For Recording Banding Data

• Put your own 3-letter initials in the ‘Scribe’ field
• If you are volunteering for the first time, also enter your initials and name under the ‘Banders’ tab highlighted below
• If the ‘Bander ID’ or ‘Scribe’ fields highlight red, that means the initials entered are not yet recorded in the ‘Banders’ tab

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Write your own initials here

Write your full name and initials on this tab so we know whose initials are whose!

Tips For Recording Recapture Data

• It is extremely important that recapture band numbers get recorded correctly!
• Recapture data is the most important data a banding station collects. If the band number recorded is incorrect, then the data is useless
• After the bander reads off the band number for a recapture, read it back to the bander so you can both verify the recorded number is correct

Always read all 9 digits of the band number back to the bander after you’ve recorded it

Tips For Recording Recapture Data

• The ‘Repeat / Return / Foreign’ field at the end can be left blank, the staff fill this in at the end of the day while doing banding totals
• The ‘How Obtained’ and ‘Present Condition’ fields are only found on the Recapture sheet. These fields autofill and do not need to be changed.

You can leave this field blank

Final Notes

• If a data field is left empty while you’re scribing, let the bander know before they release the bird!
• We sometimes do this on purpose to speed things up, but we do forget things from time to time
• The bander will usually give you the data in the same order it appears on the spreadsheet, but be flexible if they need to jump around a bit
• If you’re ever having trouble keeping up, just let the bander know
• We’d much rather take the extra time to work at your pace to make sure data gets recorded accurately
• Review this PowerPoint again a day or two before your first volunteer shift so it’s fresh!
• If you need to cancel your volunteer shift for any reason, please send us an email so we know you’re not coming!

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Burrowing Owl

• Her name is Nina, and she is adorable
• She isn’t very good at scribing, but she is a good editor
• She’s just here to say hi

That’s All!

• Contact information if you have questions:
• Jana Teefy, Head Biologist: biologist@beaverhillbirds.com
• Jon Van Arragon, Assistant Biologist: assistant.biologist@beaverhillbirds.com

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• Complete the scribing quiz and you’ll be ready to sign up for your first shift
• Click here to start!

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