Madeleine Hutchins

Madeleine Hutchins, at the Center at Pomfret

Madeleine Hutchins, Pomfret
Pomfret Bird Bander; College Student, Yale University

“I had seen banding done at camp and learned about birds there as well as just watching them on my own time, but I was definitely far less familiar with birds and bird banding than after I started bird banding at Pomfret.

“Seeing the birds up close is an amazing experience that most people don’t have the chance to enjoy. They are so incredibly different, and so much more detailed, than what you are able to appreciate when they are up in trees or flying by. I always think of it as being up close and personal with a tiny dinosaur, so that is pretty cool as well.

“For the MAPS program, we go out about once every week in the summer to our Pomfret site. We start pretty early, and try to do our first round at 6:30 a.m. We have 11 numbered mist nets (very fine nets that the birds—and often people—can’t see very well) in specific sites on the property, and every hour we check the nets for birds. Once we’ve gathered the birds, we take them back to process. The first thing we do is put a light aluminum band of the proper size for the bird on their right leg. Each one has a unique series of numbers, and these band numbers go into a database so that if they are ever caught again, researchers can see where they were last caught and what data was taken on them at that time. Then data is collected, which involves taking their weight and the length of their wing, recording the state of their flight feathers and if they are molting, whether they are male or female (if we can tell, sometimes a reliable determination can’t be made), how old they are, as well the net they came from.

“Occasionally, our master bird bander will be taking feather or blood samples, or collecting ticks from the birds for additional research.

“Once we have the data we need, the birds are carefully released.

“From a strictly scientific standpoint, bird banding is important because it is helpful to be able to monitor the populations of birds, where they’re returning to, and how long they’re living, as well as all the smaller facts that pop up, like hybridization in warblers or different manifestations of age in plumage of different birds.

“I think birds are often overlooked in their importance to ecosystems, so it’s always good to be keeping track of their whereabouts and habits. As far as doing the public demonstrations, I think it greatly increases peoples’ feeling of connection to the birds, which in turn produces an individual desire to help them prosper, whether that’s through donating to organizations like Audubon or changing the landscaping at their home to better accommodate key species.”