I try and help wherever possible with requests for information regarding banded
birds but for those who don't know how the system works , here goes...
The Australian Bird and Bat Banding Schemes (ABBBS) administers ALL bird banding
in Australia and its territories. ABBBS itself is administered by Environment
Australia : P.O. Box 8, Canberra, ACT 2601, email Bands are
issued by ABBBS for approved studies only and banders MUST provide ABBBS with
details of ALL birds banded. The ABBBS therefore has records of ALL birds
banded in Australia and its territories and should be able to assist with bands
placed on birds overseas through its close contacts with other bird banding
agencies. In some instances the ABBBS might not be able to assist immediately
if the bander has not lodged their banding data prior to the band being
recovered. If this is the case the ABBBS has a record of who that band was
issued to and notifies the bander that the band has been recovered and requests
the banding information.
The ABBBS also has authority over ALL colour-marking of birds, ie colour
banding, leg flagging, wing tags etc. However, at times, the ABBBS might refer
enquiries to a coordinator of a large project because of the large number of
sightings generated by that project. For example all enquiries about colour
marked egrets were referred directly to me when I was working on this project.
I received several hundred sightings of wing tagged egrets a year from members
of the public. This was obviously increasing the workload of ABBBS staff.
Likewise sightings of leg flagged waders should be directed to Clive Minton (
as well as marked terns in Victoria. In NSW the best
people to contact about terns are perhaps Dave Pridell (
or Keith Egan All sightings
of colour-banded Brown Falcons should be sent to Paul McDonald (
and all sightings of Regent Honeyeaters to me. If you
send it to ABBBS it will get back to the people coordinating the project but not
as quickly as when contacted directly. In my case, I know that I want the
information ASAP so that we can chase up further information if required.
I hope this helps clarify just who needs to be contacted when you see a banded
bird. I would urge EVERYONE to report ALL banded birds, after all bands aren't
placed on birds just for the fun of it. Someone is going to a lot of trouble
collecting valuable information. Your input will greatly assist.
Happy hunting
David Geering
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a message to
Include ONLY "unsubscribe birding-aus" in the message body (without the
quotes)
|
