Tremont Institute kicks off bird banding season on National Citizen Science Day

Louisiana Waterthrushes (Parkesia motacilla) and Acadian Flycatchers (Empidonax virescens) are breeding birds associated with headwaters streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Image courtesy of Tremont Institute.

TOWNSEND — Tremont Institute will host an open house on Friday, May 27 from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm to kick off bird banding season. Tremont Institute, in partnership with the Citizen Science Association, is hosting this official event for #CitSciDay 2016 as part of a month-long national celebration of citizen science. Citizen science is public participation in scientific research.

Bird banding has been one of Tremont Institute’s most popular citizen science programs for the past several years with community members meeting to get a glimpse of wild birds of the Smokies up close. Nets are set up around Tremont’s campus as part of a research project studying the Louisiana Waterthrush. Tremont faculty members will collect birds from the nets, record information, band the birds with small identifying bands, and release them.

In addition to Tremont’s bird banding station, citizen science volunteers will be onsite to share information about other research projects going on at Tremont and how anyone can become a citizen scientist.

Hands on activities will introduce visitors to the world of citizen science at Tremont Institute. Projects featured include bird banding, Otter Spotter and Bioblitz using iNaturalist, Monarch butterfly tagging, phenology/Project Budburst, soil respiration monitoring, terrestrial and aquatic salamander monitoring, and more.

“Our bird banding research furthers our understanding of birds and their habitat in the Smokies,” says Tiffany Beachy, Tremont’s citizen science coordinator. “We look at the potential impacts of the decline of Eastern Hemlocks on a warbler called the Louisiana Waterthrush. These are obligate riparian songbirds, which means they require rivers and streams to breed and forage. Many of our hemlocks are along streams, so we’re investigating whether the decline of this tree species due to the exotic Hemlock Wooly Adelgid is having an impact on breeding populations of Louisiana Waterthrush.”

“In addition to banding waterthrush, we band all other species that we catch as part of a nationwide program called Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS),” Beachy continued. “We catch, mark, and release birds during the breeding season to obtain information about how long birds live, how many young are recruited into the local population, and how often they return to the same nesting area. This information aids park staff in making the best possible decisions regarding management of the diverse habitats.”

There is no charge for this event, and no registration is necessary.

Published May 17, 2016