Churchlands Primary School Banding Demonstration

We had a great day on Wednesday giving a banding demonstration to the Pre-Primary and Kindy kids of Churchlands Primary School. As the school is right across the road from Herdsman Lake this was a fantastic opportunity for the kids to learn about the birds in their local environment and the importance of Herdsman Lake in the Perth area, as well as see some of the smaller bush birds up close. We managed to catch a Silvereye, Yellow-rumped Thornbill and New Holland Honeyeater to show which the kids loved. A large focus of the talk was on working scientifically. The classes learned about the aims of the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme and we showed how we conduct our research at the lake by applying a band to the bird's leg and demonstrating how we take all the measurements and record data. Some lucky kids even got the chance to help release a bird back into the bush. The day was a success all round, and hopefully we inspired some budding ornithologists to grab some binoculars and get out there!

Showing the wing and moult
of a New Holland Honeyeater

Too big for a Honeyeater - showing the
different sizes of bands

Releasing a Silvereye

Photos: Calan Rance

"Dear Lizzie, Thankyou for showing
nearly all the birds, and we saw a
 Bee-eater hole and for teaching
...how to measure its fat."

"Dear Lizzie, Thankyou for showing us the birds
they are so cute and looked so cuddly.
I like the Silvereye bird the most. I also
 loved when you measured its head."

Earlier in the morning before the classes arrived we still conducted a normal banding session and had a slow but steady October catch. The highlight of the morning was another Bee-eater (with interesting tail moult leading us to age it as a 2-), which was unfortunately just that bit too early for the kids to see.

Tail of a 2- Rainbow Bee-eater

Breakdown  28/10/2015:

Silvereye: 4 new, 7 retraps
Singing Honeyeater: 1 new
New Holland Honeyeater: 1 new
Yellow-rumped Thornbill: 2 new, 1 retraps
Rainbow Bee-eater: 1 new
Laughing Dove: 1 retrap
TOTAL: 9 new + 9 retrap = 18