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Bird Banding by Volunteers

Region: China
Author: Zhao Xinru, Green Earth Volunteers Bird Watching Group
Consortium Member: Green Earth Volunteers (China)
Status: Funded and Ongoing Budget: $1139 Collected: $1139 Needs: $0
Result: To organize and train volunteers to participate in bird-banding activities in different regions of China; to raise public awareness of the value of ecosystems used by migrating birds
Donors: Peter Lynch, Vermont [October 2002]; Tom Moran, Vermont [October 2002]; Trace Foundation; Shelley and David Hamel, Aleutian Islands, Alaska [December 2002]; For wedding of Tsu-Yu Tsao and Lisa Yuen [January 2005]; For Liu Feng and Chris Winham; For Yoko Matsuda in memory of the life of Tomo Matsuda [Japan]; For Stellah red Trestle Marienthal-LeGendre; For Owen Christopher Stier; For Rafael Sylvan Kunreuther Karpowitz - Bard College, New York State [September 2005]; With Thanks to Jianjun Fang, Bard College [March 2006]; For Rosalind Seneca, New Jersey [August 2006]; In Memory of Paul and Josephine Lee [October 2006]; In Memory of Eleanor Winograd Judd; In Memory of Eunice Smith Whittlesey [February 2007]
Comment: This would be the first-ever volunteer group to participate in the Chinese national bird-banding activities. Support for their costs for equipment and reference materials will enable them to educate themselves and contribute to this program.

About Bird-Banding
Bird ringing (bird banding) is used around the world for understanding the migration patterns and health situation of different species of birds. People give migrating birds a metal band or ring (on one of their legs). On the band, they write their country and organization. For each bird they catch, they note the bird’s name, size, weight, color etc. when they stay a place in the winter or spring. After it is ringed, the bird is released. When it continues its travels, it carries this information with it. This process lets people know the banded birds’ flight time and path, area and species, number, age, etc. This enables people to collect ecological data. They observe and record changes in bird populations (health, numbers, species), and relate these to human actions and environmental conditions. At the same time, they can also protect severely ill birds.

About Our Project and Our Group
In America, in Japan and in the developed countries, most of the bird banding is done by volunteers, who have already had abundant experience. But in China, this work has just started, and most of it is done by government staff, science staff, and teachers. Green Earth Volunteers Bird Watching Group hopes to participate in this important process, and to become the first all-volunteer bird-banding organization in China.
Our group has been actively bird watching for four years, under the direction of a university professor who is a bird expert. Twice we joined the Hong Kong International Bird Watching Match.
In order to contribute to the bird banding work in China, and to increase general public knowledge about birds and their habitats, we need to train our team, and to advance our level of bird knowledge. We plan to train about 20 persons more and prepare the bird-banding tools and materials. We plan to participate, as a volunteer team, in this year's state-run bird banding events at Beidaihe National Bird-Banding Center, which is in Hebei province about 320 kilometres east of Beijing.
Our volunteers will provide all their own costs of transportation to the training and bird-banding sites. These are estimated at $5000 altogether. We are requesting support from the Virtual Foundation just for buying the equipment (bird banding materials and reference books) that will enable us to participate in the activities.

Training Program
Lessons including:

1. Basic bird-banding techniques ( 8 meetings; total 20-24 hours)
2. Methods of catching the birds, including how to use the bird net (3 meetings; total 30 hours)
3. Measuring and recording (4 meetings; total 8 hours)
4. Bird identification (6 meetings; total 10 hours)
5. Distinguishing the bird in the field ( 6 meetings; total 10-30 hours)
6. How to care for injured birds (1 meeting, about 3 hours)
7. Creating bird specimens (3 meetings, about 12 hours)
8. How to band the birds ( 2 meetings; about 4 hours)

Budget

Training handbooks (50 copies of each)	Total $250
Bird banding training handbook, 73 pages, @ $1
Chinese bird system index, 350 pages @ $4
Bird-banding tools & materials	Total $500
20 bird nets @ $ 9 = $180
20 calipers @ $ 8 = $160
100 bird bags @ $ 0.3 = $30
20 bird banding boxes @ $ 3 = $60
20 flashlights @ $ 2 = $40
10 steelyards (balance scales for weighing birds) @ $ 3 = $30

Reference books	Total $285
"Chinese Birds", Tang Bingzhang and Zhang Zizu, 5 @ $25 = $125
"Chinese Birds Field Handbook", He Fenqi, 5 @ $10 = $50
"Birds of Hong Kong & Huanan Region", Lin Chaoying; 5 @ $22 = $110
Subtotal Books and Equipment	$1035
VF administrative fee (10%)	$104
Requested from Virtual Foundation	$1139