The Taconic Outdoor Education Center (TOEC), at Fahnestock State Park, invited the community to celebrate National Get Outdoors Day and National Kids to Parks Day on May 18^th this year at the TOEC Outdoor RecFest. The day started with a bird banding demonstration led by Eric Lind of the Audubon Constitution March Sanctuary.

Bird banding is a way to gain valuable knowledge about migratory birds, including data used in studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, life-span and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth. The data can be used in both research and management projects.

At the RecFest, bird banding was also a great tool for education and getting kids introduced to and interested in outdoor science and the variety of songbirds that make Fahnstock State Park their home. It was also a special opportunity for kids to get up close and personal with a migratory bird. Participants learned about mist nets, band sizes, bird measurements, and data recording.

Other events of the day included a bird walk led by naturalist Peter Salmansohn of Putnam Highland’s Audubon and workshops in orienteering and canoeing. The Event was supported by the Putnam Highland Audubon chapter, and Audubon New York’s Constitution Marsh Sanctuary, with the help of TOEC outdoor Educators.

For more information on bird banding: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/whyband.cfm

Featured image of a veery in a mist net by Gerry Katzban. Post by Paris Harper.