Buchanan, Tenn.–Paris Landing State Park will now begin banding raptors before their releases back into the wild. Paris Landing has been operating a raptor rehabilitation program for several years.
The first official birds banded at the park were two baby Eastern Screech-owls and the banding was done by Cyndi Routledge. Routledge is licensed in Tennessee and federally as a Master Bander and has been banding birds since 2010. The bands on these owls all have a series of nine unique numbers that will help identify and age them if they are observed again.
She has been involved with the hummingbird banding project at the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge in Springville for several years.
Bird banding is a safe and cost-effective method to help track and study how all types of birds move throughout the country. By banding the raptors, park officials said they can contribute valuable data to the scientific community that can help protect and conserve these amazing birds.
Read more about bird banding and its benefits (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service): https://www.fws.gov/birds/surveys-and-data/bird-banding.php.
Park officials thanked Hannah Bauman and Andrew Lydeard for helping to rehab these and other birds of prey and thanks to Cyndi Routledge for banding the raptors and Ski Witzofsky for her expertise in wildlife.
Photo by Paris Landing State Park.