Last night we went to our friend Marc’s house for some bird banding. Marc lives not to far from us at the top of a beautiful hill overlooking much of Arusha and the surrounding plains. He occasionally sets up “mist nets” that enables him to catch birds that are flying though (either resident or migratory). He then bands their legs, records pertinent information (later entered into a national/international database), and then releases them. We were lucky enough to be there this time for some bird banding, sundowners, and dinner.
Mist nets to catch the birds
Bagged and waiting to be measured
Measuring: wings, legs, beak, weight and banding
Checking for brood patch. Marc blew on it’s belly to see whether it was missing the feathers from it’s belly which would indicate that it’s sitting on eggs (like this one). I never knew.
Marc got bit more than a few times
Ash and I got a turn with a mouse bird
Break for a walk up the hill. Gorgeous.
Super fun catch was this Night Jar. We never see them except in our car headlights at night – just enough to scare them off into the bush.
Thanks to the Baker’s for hosting. We had a super fun night.
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