I hike Puʻu ʻŌʻō Trail, several times a month, sometimes more often. In July, I happened across an ʻelepaio that had bands on its legs. I had never noticed or photographed a banded bird on the trail before! I've seen a number of banded nēnē in parks or elsewher, but not other birds on the hiking trail.
The birding community in Hawaiʻi is very friendly and supportive. Because of this, I posted the photo and tagged a friend who is fully plugged into conservation efforts on the island. Within an hour, I learned that this ʻelepaio was banded in 2017 for a project at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, examining bird movement and vocalization patterns. I was even provided a location of where the bird was banded and released - several miles from where I saw and photographed it.
I was also told that if you see or find a banded bird, you should report it to USGS. USGS's Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is nearly 100 years old. Banding allows scientists to study bird longevity, migration, population, social structure, and more. Each year approximately 1 million bands are shipped from the BBL to permitted banders in the United States and Canada, and nearly 100,000 band encounter reports are submitted into the BBL systems.
My little ʻelepaio is now one of those reported and it was easy!
Have you photographed a banded bird?
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