Braddock Bay Bird Observatory is pleased to offer an Advanced Molt Workshop, running from Thursday July 24 through Sunday July 27. This workshop is aimed at banders who are currently involved with or who are considering opening MAPS stations, and at migration or project-based banders who desire a better grasp of molt and other aging techniques.
Mornings feature hands-on training in the field at the Kaiser-Manitou Beach Banding Station located just northwest of Rochester, NY on the south shore of Lake Ontario. MAPS datasheets and protocol are used on at least some mornings.
Afternoons are devoted to lectures, demonstrations, and in-depth instruction on various aspects of bird banding including:
* Aging birds, especially by molt limits
* Passerine and near-passerine molt sequences and strategies, including a lecture specifically on woodpecker molt sequences
* A comparison of the traditional calendar-based age classification system with the newer Wolfe-Ryder-Pyle (WRP) cycle-based age classification system
* Detailed introduction to and practice in accurately using the WRP system to age birds
* Practice in interpreting the revised edition of Pyle’s ID Guide to North American Birds
The course has been approved by the North American Banding Council, uses training manuals produced by the NABC, and is taught by Andrea Patterson – an NABC certified Trainer who has taught more than 200 students in small hands-on workshops at BBBO, in the Adirondacks, and in Belize.
The four-day course is timed to coincide with the peak of juvenile fledging and dispersal as well as with the onset of adult molt, which challenges students to employ all age classifications at once. As this is an advanced workshop, we ask that participants have prior mist-netting and banding/processing experience of at least 200 birds.
Course tuition is $300, which includes all materials. There is a $50 discount for students and early career professionals (within five years of a terminal degree) who are pursuing careers in avian ecology or related fields, and who will be paying their own way. To encourage equity and inclusion in avian studies, we offer a limited number of full tuition waivers to students and early career professionals from groups historically excluded from or marginalized in the field.
Because space in this course is limited, priority will be given to those with the opportunity to use these skills either in their work or as volunteers. Full payment is due upon accepting a seat in the class unless other arrangements are made. Tuition is refundable minus a $25 administrative fee if the participant cancels at least 30 days before the start of class. Cancellations within 30 days of the start of class are refundable only if we are able to fill the seat with another student. In some cases, students may be able to defer their participation to a later session.
At this time, we anticipate that students will need to secure their own housing, although we are happy to help coordinate students and facilitate searches for lodgings that are convenient and inexpensive.
COVID-19 Notification: COVID-19 has made it more difficult to offer hands-on instruction in a safe way as it requires close contact, “over the shoulder” supervision, passing birds and tools back and forth, etc. We strongly encourage all students and instructors in our classes to be fully vaccinated (i.e., being at least two weeks past the final recommended dose of a vaccine approved for use in the US). We expect that students accepted into the class will exercise sound judgment in their activities in the days and weeks leading up to their time at BBBO, and that they will be forthcoming in advising us of COVID-19 infection or known exposure within a week of the start date.
To apply, visit our website at <https: />
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