Banding Station - Student Data Sheet Student Name____________________________

Recording Data … Keeping notes about what you see outside can help you learn about your environment. Your notes are
“data”, information you learn from your observations. While at the banding station, record data about each bird you see.
Look closely at each bird and note it’s color or plumage, it’s size and it’s bill shape.

Banding Station Location: Warner Nature Center, Marine on St Croix, MN Date: ______________
Latitude: 45deg 15min 00sec Longitude: 92 deg 45 min 00sec

1) Species Name:____________________________________________________ 2)Code: ___________

What kind of bill does this bird
have? Sketch it.
This bird eats: (circle the correct
foods)
3) Band Number: ___________________
4) Recapture: Y N
5) Wing Chord (Length wrist to wing tip): ______________
6) Age: (circle one): HY SY ASY TY ATY AHY U
Age determined by: (circle those that apply)
P (plumage) M (molt) F (feather wear) E (eye color) B (bill)
7) Sex: (circle one) M (male) F (female) U (unknown)
Sex determined by: (circle those that apply)
P (plumage) B (brood patch) C (cloacal protuberance)
W (wing chord)

1) Species … The name of the species caught

2) Code … A four-letter code corresponding to the species. Generally, the first two letters come from the first part of the
bird’s name and the last two letters come from the second part of the bird’s name. For example, Downy Woodpecker is
DOWO and Song Sparrow is SOSP. Birds with three parts to their names generally use the first letter of the first part, the
first letter of the second part and the first two letters of the third part. For example, Black-capped Chickadee is BCCH.

3) Band Number … each bird is given its own unique band number. If the bird is recaptured at some other time,
data can be compared.

4) R … if this bird is a recapture, enter R in this column.

5) Wing … wing chord (the length from wrist to wing tip) is measured in millimeters using a ruler and is helpful in sexing
some birds.

6) Age … All birds age another year on January 1. The most common ages are HY for Hatching Year (born this year), SY for
Second Year (born last year), ASY for After Second Year (born before last year), and AHY for After Hatching Year.
Woodpeckers can be aged through TY for Third Year (born two years ago) and ATY for After Third Year (born more than two
years ago). Fall birds that cannot be aged are coded U for Unknown.

How Age … characteristics used to age the bird, including Plumage (P), Molt limit (M), Feather wear (F),
Eye color (E), Bill (I)

7) Sex … Male (M), Female (F) or Unknown (U)

How Sex … characteristics used to sex the bird, including Plumage (P), Brood Patch (B), Cloacal protuberance (C),
Wing length (W)

Other Birds Species Observed Today: Code Age Sex Migration: where are they going?
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