Banding Together for Birds

Photograph by Barry Williams

It’s early on a chilly morning, and a group of sleepy-eyed people follow a dew-moistened trail in Grand Teton National Park. The group stops before a barely visible net strung between some shrubs, and watches as Doug Wachob (shown at left) holds a small yellow warbler he has taken out of the net.

For three years, Mr. Wachob, director of research at the Teton Science School, in Jackson Hole, Wyo., has led people on “Bird Banding and Breakfast” hikes. The school, created in 1967, is one of 426 institutions around the world that assist in gathering data on migratory birds for the MAPS program. MAPS, which stands for “Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship,” is a network of organizations and individuals who volunteer to gather information on North American songbirds for the Institute on Bird Populations, in Point Reyes, Cal. That information is used to study the breeding patterns of the birds — with the goal of protecting them.

Through the hiking program, participants learn how to determine the age, sex, and nesting activity of a particular bird, and then band it with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identification number.

The effort to protect the birds often leads to discussions on broader global environmental problems such as deforestation, pesticide use, and disease. More important, Teton Science School officials say, the program allows people to have a hand in research that may ultimately affect the future of global environmental policies.

“We get a chance to educate people about birds, about their needs, and ecology,” Mr. Wachob says. “If people don’t care, then they’re not going to want to do things to conserve habitats for birds. The worst possible scenario for any species is to have people be apathetic about it.”