On a cool summer morning at 5:15 a.m., bright-eyed volunteers meet at the top of the old golf course on Connecticut Audubon’s Bafflin Sanctuary in Pomfret. Freshly trained and eager to work, they are ready to begin six hours of data collection through bird-banding and a research program called M.A.P.S. (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Program.)

Although the entire banding process for each bird collected takes only minutes, the impact of the research is long lasting and far-reaching. Nationwide, more than 1 million birds are banded each year at 400 sites across the country. Of those birds that are banded, more than 50,000 are later recovered and re-banded at other sites so that comparative data can be analyzed.

In addition to the Bafflin Sanctuary in Pomfret, seasonal bird banding is also conducted at other Connecticut Audubon locations; Birdcraft Museum in Fairfield and the CAS Coastal Center at Milford Point. (Bird banding projects at these facilities will be covered in future newsletter articles.)

Volunteers are highly trained before venturing into the bird banding program. The tools and techniques of the trade are unusual and require practice. Working under the watchful eye of Carol Millard, a licensed bird bander and master permittee, volunteers are supervised in the proper handling of birds, banding techniques and data recording and collection. The list of species after just four days of data collection is impressive: cardinal, red and white eyed vireo, chickadee, goldfinch, downy woodpecker, redstart, veery, worm-eating warbler, eastern towhee, bluebird, black and white warbler, catbird (lots of catbirds!), yellow throated and blue-winged warblers and wood thrush.

For this particular day of banding in Pomfret, the first of several rounds of bird retrieval and data collection begins in the early morning hours. Through the use of delicate mist nests that are nearly invisible to birds and aid in their temporary capture, some of the nets are empty, while others hold several birds. With extreme care, birds are removed from the delicate mist nets, placed in soft, protective bags and brought back to a data collection station. First, a lightweight aluminum numbered band is loosely attached to the bird's leg. Then information on bird (its age, weight, gender, and physical condition) is carefully recorded onto forms. After being "processed", the birds are quickly released, unharmed, back into the wild. The ten-week program provides invaluable information gathered over the summer on hundreds of birds, which is sent onto the Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes, California.

Carol Millard is donating her time and expertise to the project because she loves working with the birds. “Birds are remarkable because you can watch their behavior and follow individuals fairly easily, “ said Carol, who used to work at the Connecticut Audubon Center at Glastonbury and was the former SNAP Coordinator for Connecticut Audubon. “The birds have unique personalities. Once you have them in your hand, you can see their colors and patterns up close and they are more vivid and detailed.”

The M.A.P. S. Program at Pomfret is part of a nationwide bird-monitoring project, a cooperative effort between government and private organizations that provides critical information gathered by trained local volunteers on population and demographic parameters for up to100 target land birds. Without this information it would be impossible to account for shifts in bird populations. Positive and negative population trends are impacted by factors such as climate changes and loss of habitat. The program employs a strict but manageable protocol that involves training, then periodic banding sessions during the summer breeding season.

Considering the relatively low cost for supplies, which was fully covered by the Eastern Connecticut Communities Foundation, the Connecticut Audubon Society, and National Audubon’s Connecticut Audubon Council, this banding program in Pomfret promises to have a big impact on the community. This data is critical at the national level, but it is also a rare opportunity to systematically collect data on the birds of Windham County.

"It is our hope that the program and the data it provides will be a powerful educational and planning tool,” said Annie Guion, Director of Connecticut Audubon’s Northeast Corner Programs. “Although our data will be useful to The Institute for Bird Populations on a national level, we also hope local groups such as The Green Valley Institute and town conservation commissions will use the data in planning for their open space needs. It is also an exciting and highly visible program that will generate interest in local conservation issues."

Beyond the scientific importance, there is tremendous personal satisfaction in working this closely with birds. Paula Coughlin, a local birder and educator who is responsible for bringing the MAPS program to Pomfret, remarked that “I wanted to be involved in real field research. It’s so exciting to hold a bird in your hand and see it up close.”

Connecticut Audubon’s Pomfret MAPS program ran through August 2, and will begin again in June of 2002. The public is invited to participate in a bird banding demonstration at the Connecticut Audubon Center at Pomfret on Saturday, September 29th from 9-11 a.m. and again on Saturday, October 20th from 9-11 a.m. Call the Center at (860) 928-4948 to register.