Bird ringing camp

Scientific studies of birds often require that birds be captured to gather morphometric data and to collect samples for pathological, genetic, and biogeochemical analysis. These data and samples can be used to understand evolutionary relationships, genetics, population structure and dynamics, comparative anatomy and physiology, adaption, behavior, parasites and diseases, geographic distributions, migration, and the general ecology of wild populations of birds.

I have attended BNHS Bird Ringing Camp which was held in Mumbai, Maharastra on December 2018

Bird ringing camp –The First Day

Our camp started at 2.30 PM. The meeting point was CBD Belapur railway station. We went to NRI Pond by bus arranged by BNHS for bird counting and bird ringing. We went through a practical session of bird capturing through mist net and ringing. We got two different species. One is oriental magpie robin and another is white-throated kingfisher. Eminent ringer Tuhina ma’am along with Madhumita ma’am ringed both the birds in presence of all the ringing camp students and BNHS faculties and representatives.

Here is the bird species list found on first day along with the counting –

Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)	5
Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)	6
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)	22
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)	3
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)	10
Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)	140
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))	70
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)	2
Little Swift (Apus affinis)	14
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)	2
Ruddy-breasted Crake (Zapornia fusca)	1
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)	28
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)	30
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)	16
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)	1
Little Stint (Calidris minuta)	60
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)	1
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)	40
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)	12
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)	20
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)	2
Brown-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus)	120
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)	55
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)	6
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)	4
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)	2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)	4
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)	4
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)	14
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)	4
Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)	4
Striated Heron (Butorides striata)	1
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)	1
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)	14
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)	1
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)	1
Shikra (Accipiter badius)	1
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)	1
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)	1
Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)	1
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)	3
White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)	1
Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)	4
Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus)	2
House Crow (Corvus splendens)	15
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)	10
Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii)	1
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)	4
Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)	1
Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)	2
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)	1
Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra)	40
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)	4
Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)	4

Bird Ringing Camp – The Second Day

Our camp started at 7.00 AM. We went to Coastal & Marine Biodiversity Centre, Airoli for bird ringing. We went through a practical session of bird capturing through mist net and ringing. We learnt how to set up a mist nest for capturing birds. Today we got a Blyth’s reed warbler for ringing. We took a stroll in the entire arena of biodiversity centre and observed many birds like lesser and greater flamingos, black-tailed godwit, common sandpiper, little stint etc. near Thane creek.

Here is the bird species list found on second day along with the counting –

Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)	2
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)	10
Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)	60
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))	15
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)	2
Little Swift (Apus affinis)	4
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)	10
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)	2
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)	18
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)	6
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)	1
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)	3
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)	2
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)	4
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)	20
Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)	4
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)	1
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)	1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)	1
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)	2
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)	6
Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)	4
Shikra (Accipiter badius)	1
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)	1
Black Kite (Black-eared) (Milvus migrans lineatus/formosanus)	1
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)	2
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)	4
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)	1
Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)	1
House Crow (Corvus splendens)	6
Large-billed Crow (Indian Jungle) (Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus)	12
Dusky Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne concolor)	4
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)	1
Paddyfield Warbler (Acrocephalus agricola)	2
Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)	3
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)	2
Indian Robin (Copsychus fulicatus)	4
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva)	2
Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra)	4
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)	6

After bird watching through binoculars, spotting scope and photographing them, we were enriched by an interactive session of the presentations on bird migration and bird ringing by Tuhina Katty ma’am and Madhumita Panigrahi ma’am. We came to know many important things from these presentations. I will discuss those in later part. In the second half after lunch, we went to Bhandup pumping station for bird watching. It was a nice experience to walk in the jungle trail and reach to the waterbody where we found a big flock of flamingos and terns flying over our head. We watched Indian Spot-billed Duck, common sandpiper and marsh harrier from a short distance.

Here is the bird species list found on Bhandup pumping station

Garganey (Spatula querquedula)	8
Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)	12
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)	40
Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)	324
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))	40
Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)	2
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)	2
Little Swift (Apus affinis)	8
Asian Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis)	2
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)	6
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)	2
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)	4
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)	14
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)	1
Little Stint (Calidris minuta)	2
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)	1
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)	1
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)	8
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)	6
Brown-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus)	14
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)	23
River Tern (Sterna aurantia)	1
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)	2
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)	2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)	1
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)	3
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)	3
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)	10
Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)	2
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)	14
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)	2
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)	1
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)	3
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)	1
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)	2
White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)	2
Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)	4
Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus)	2
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)	4
Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus)	1
Indian Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo)	1
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)	1
House Crow (Corvus splendens)	10
Large-billed Crow (Indian Jungle) (Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus)	8
Dusky Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne concolor)	6
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)	5
Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)	12
Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)	1
Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)	5
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)	1
Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum)	2
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)	7
Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus)	2
Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus)	51
Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)	6

Bird Ringing Camp –The Third Day

We went to Uran for learning bird counting in line transect method. From 7 AM. to 11 AM. we enjoyed watching birds, photographing, learning line transact method, counting species. Today we got a lot of waterbirds along with flamingos from a shorter distance. We got a total five-ringed bird also from which three are photographed well.

After an awesome lunch offered by BNHS, officially our camp was completed. We got news from our faculty Dr. Raju Kasambe sir that Caspian plover was sighted in Kolshet Road, Thane, Maharashtra. It is not commonly sighted in this region. We, students, went there and found some other species but not got that exact species.

Here is the bird species list found on third day along with the counting –

Species	Count
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))	45
Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)	2
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)	1
Little Swift (Apus affinis)	12
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)	10
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)	2
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)	2
Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus)	4
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)	2
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)	2
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)	1
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)	1
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)	2
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)	4
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)	2
Brown-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus)	4
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)	4
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)	3
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)	3
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)	2
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)	6
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)	2
Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)	6
pond-heron sp. (Ardeola sp.)	1
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)	2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)	1
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)	6
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)	1
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)	1
Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)	2
Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus)	2
House Crow (Corvus splendens)	20
Large-billed Crow (Indian Jungle) (Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus)	4
Dusky Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne concolor)	2
Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum)	2
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)	4
bird sp. (Aves sp.)	1

Here is the whole process of ringing step by step

1) The ringing team at first do the setup of the mist net in different locations where they observe the maximum bird activity. This net is made of one type of soft nylon. It is very soft and not at all harmful to the caught birds. The ringing team take a stroll around the place and check in every 15 minutes if there is any bird caught in net or not.

2) After trapping the bird it is rescued and brought to the ringing location in a soft breathable cotton bag. There are different bags for different sizes of birds. We have to write the ring number and the scientific name of the species. If the sex of the bird can be identified from its outer look then it can be written. If the bird is going through a moulting stage then it can be written by the predefined key numbers of the data sheet given by BNHS. In the same style, we have to measure its wing, bill, tars, tail and write in the data sheet. We also have to mention the weight, locality, and habitat of the birds caught and ringed.

For measuring a small scale is used. This is how to do the measurement –

1) Tars – Joint to the third scale of the feet.

2) Bill – From the skull joint to the extreme last point of the bill.

3) Wing – From covert to the primary feather.

4) Tail – Uropygial gland to the longest feather of the tail.

Reasons to do biometric measurement of birds

To get the average size and location we do biometric measurements. Some species size also differs from another specimen of the same species. The health and well being of the captured bird is the most important thing during the whole ringing process.

In Uran, I photographed three birds that have flags in their legs. If we want to monitor the seasonal changes in birds then we have to recapture the ringed bird and get the ring number. Then we have to inform the authority for it’s more details and they will search their old records for the details of that particular bird. Flagging allows the photographers to take the shot of the bird and get the flag number. It is easier for getting the old data without the hassal of recapturing.

Learning

Bird migration is a very important thing in the world of birding and ornithology. Bird ringing and flagging are two pillars for understanding migration history and pattern.

Bird migration study techniques

1. Bird ringing
2. Colour marking
3. Geolocator
4. Satellite Transmitter
5. GSM Tags
6. Stable Isotopes
7. Radar Studies

History of Migration

Migration in India means regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of India. Migration happened even 3000 years ago. We got the proof in  Greek Philosopher and poet Hesiod, Homer, Herodotus and Aristotle’s writing. In early 19th’s century, the scientific studies have begun.

All the reasons for migration are not fully understood or discovered by science, but generally, it is said that birds migrate to avoid the adverse situation of the winter season and the scarcity of food of his breeding ground in the winter. There are hazards during migration like flying to cover such a huge distance, lack of ideal habitat to stopover, poaching, hunting etc. But the advantages of migration must be more than the hazards, that is why birds do migrate.

Fuel for the journey

1. Migration begins only if the fat content exceeds a critical level.
2. Migrants develop stores of fat especially for migration
3. Fat yields two times more energy and water per gram metabolized than does either carbohydrate or protein.
4. Precision in timing to avoid overlap of breeding, moult, and migration.

Long distance migration

1. Bar-tailed godwits have the longest known non-stop flight of any migrant, flying 11,000 km from Alaska to their New Zealand non-breeding areas. Prior to migration 55% of their body weight is stored fat to fuel this uninterrupted journey.
2. Seabird migration is similar to the pattern to those of the waders and waterfowl, most terns are breeding in the temperate northern hemisphere, move varying distances south in winter.
3. Arctic tern has the longest distance migration of any bird.
4. Research using tracking devices attached to the birds was published in January 2010 and showed that they are in fact not unusual for the species, 11 arctic terns that bred in Greenland or Iceland each covered 70,900 km. on average in a year.

Flyways

A flyway is a flight path used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans. India is under three major flyways, those are –

1. Central Asian Flyway
2. West Asian-East African Flyway
3. East Asian – Australasian Flyway

Observation along with personal views

In birding, there is a term called LIFER . This camp is my first camp with BNHS and I think I can use the term lifer  for this camp itself. This is a great learning experience laden with some very enriching interactive session overall. I did many birding trip personally but  have never been a part of such a fantastic educational birding trip before. I would like to thank all the faculties, education officers, coordinators and all the batchmates.

If you have found any flagged bird, kindly drop a mail at bands@bnhs.org or Contact us with the details of your observation.