Life on the Refuge ~ Dove Banding

July, 2015

The month of July is dove banding here on the refuge. All of our banding takes place here on the Bluff Unit. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has given us a quota of 50 doves to band; banding was usually done once a week.

The process of trapping and banding the doves is relatively simple.

Early in the morning traps were set out and baited with millet...

We would wait about 90 minutes and then we would go back and check the
traps. If we were lucky, the traps would contain doves...

notice the clothespin on top of the cage? it's holding a "door" shut. we would remove the
doves through the top of the cage

notice the "door way"? the doves would enter through this door. the metal would swing back
and they would not be able to exit

Kellie reaching in to grab a dove

Once we removed a dove from the trap, it was placed in a pillowcase
until all doves were removed from the traps (more than one dove was placed
into a pillowcase)...

Ron standing by with pillowcases

Susie (our biologist) reaching for a dove

Susie's dove is ready to be put into a pillowcase

After all of the doves have been removed from the traps and place into

pillowcases, they are banded with a metal band...

each band has a number on it

demonstrating how to hold a dove

ready to be banded; data sheet at the ready

checking his leg prior to banding

the band is placed on his leg

closing the band

the band is closed tightly, without an overlap. they are safe for the doves

Ron taking a turn banding

Ron holding the dove while Kellie bands

After the dove is banded, and before it is released, we check for the age

and sex of the dove. This information is then recorded onto a data sheet...

checking for molt.

Once these steps were completed (it only took a few minutes

for each dove), the dove was released...

be free and fly!

Ron releasing a dove

Every so often, we would have a dove that was less than anxious to fly away

(this process is stressful for them)...

Susie waiting for her dove to fly off

still waiting...

gathering up his courage to fly off

Marcie (Refuge Manager) ready to release a dove

After all of the doves had been banded and released, the traps were turned over until we were ready to bait and trap once again.

The first day we baited, we trapped 19 doves! Then, the rest of them got the memo! They were wise to us! From that point on, we would only trap a few at a time. We'd usually have one or two of them that would escape before we could get them banded. We had a couple "recaptures". One had been banded a couple days earlier, while the other one had been banded here in 2010.

This was so much fun. And, we learned so much as well. It was a great experience!

Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & Cooper the Birthday Boy! (yes, we are still celebrating his birthday!)