Bird Banding
by Dianne Faucette, Master Naturalist
September 2011 Palmetto Perspective

Every bird lover craves an opportunity to see male Painted Buntings up close. Their plumage is unmistakable—bright red, blue and green—and their song is indescribable. Females are solid green and do not sing. After filling our feeders with white millet (their favorite) for almost 12 years, we have seen only one of these beauties on our feeder. The breeding range for their eastern population is North Carolina to Florida, mainly along the coast. They are here in the spring and summer, through late October or early November when they head south to Florida and beyond. Their habitat is typically open areas with dense brush where they can feed on seeds and insects. The shrub thicket near Burke’s Beach is a popular hangout for Painted Buntings, but they always keep their distance from humans. Plus, they’re only about five inches long. 

As members of the Lowcountry Master Naturalist Association, John and I were invited to a nature tour of Botany Bay Plantation on Edisto Island, preceded by a chance to observe a Painted Bunting banding project being conducted by the Painted Bunting Observation Team from UNC Wilmington. On July 15 we arrived at the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources "blue house" at 8:00 a.m. A scant dozen of us nature lovers stood by patiently waiting for each bird to enter the caged feeder. After allowing the bird to feed sufficiently, a team member would reach into the cage and gently pick up the bird and bring it to the banding station. The three students would weigh the bird, examine the plumage to approximate its age, blow the belly feathers aside to determine the sex, and measure the beak. Then they would log the data, including any existing bands on the bird, and carefully use their specialized tools to place the designated colored bands on both feet before releasing the bird. One of the birds was captured twice that morning! The well-recognized bright primary colors of the male do not appear until the third year, making juvenile males appear like females. We observed eight individual Painted Buntings, one at a time, during this process:

1-unsexed 1st year (unable to determine gender)
2-male 2nd year
3-female 2nd year with egg
4-male 2nd year
5-female adult
6-female 2nd year
7-male 3rd year--YIPPEE, finally bright colors!
8-female adult 

The banding project provides valuable data for tracking the birds throughout their lives to monitor site fidelity, migration, behavior, reproductive success, and survival rate. Colored and numbered bands enable specific reporting back to the US Bird Banding Laboratory. I have been out birding on two occasions when I saw bands on shorebirds, and reported these to the Laboratory. I learned the American Oystercatcher had been banded in Virginia and the Red Knot was banded in Argentina.

From the banding observation on Edisto Island, we proceeded to walk to the boneyard beach. En route, my DNR pal Bess said she had been told about a hummingbird nest in a specific tree. About a dozen eyes were roaming through all the branches of this tree and were about to give up when suddenly I spotted a little cup made of lichens. The new lenses that replaced my cataracts were our heroes.

Hummingbird nest at Botany Bay on Edisto Island


Male Painted Bunting on feeder April 18, 2010


Painted Bunting-unsexed 1st yr


Red eye ring on Painted Bunting-male 3rd year

Applying band to leg of Painted Bunting-female 2nd yr with egg


Inspecting wing feathers of Painted Bunting-female adult


Measuring beak of Painted Bunting-female adult


Painted Bunting-female 2nd yr with egg


Painted Bunting-male 2nd year


Painted Bunting-male 3rd year