Grand Rapids Junior Audubon Club: Peregrines, Tree Swallows, Banding, Oh My!

June has indeed been a fun month for Junior Audubon! Instead of having our single program for the month, we decided that the opportunity to have two was just TOO good (heh, heh) to pass up. So we didn't! Last Friday (June 20th) we were so incredibly excited to have received the opportunity to witness one of Grand Valley State University's Biology Professors, Michael Lombardo, band Tree Swallows and other birds found on property owned by the university and used by Dr. Lombardo and his research team. So awesome! He walked us through the banding process and allowed us extremely close looks at the measurements that he took of the birds' beaks, wings, tails, etc. We even got to follow him and his research team to the nest boxes on site to see them extract birds to band. Dr. Lombardo and his team extracted one female Tree Swallow and one female Bluebird to band, as well as a couple of Tree Swallow nestlings. Club members and their parents walked away that day having learned about the significance of bird banding and how the process is conducted. This is especially awesome because there aren't many places where birds are banded in Michigan. The closest station to us is Kalamazoo, which would be a bit of a hike for our crew to make for a program. So yes, we were VERY thankful to Dr. Lombardo and his team for having allowed us to come out to GVSU for the morning and observe his station!

Our second program for the month of June took place on Saturday, June 21st, at GVSU's downtown campus in Grand Rapids. We invited local Peregrine expert Elaine Kampmueller to present on her work with the now-famous falcons and show us the nest boxes that are placed atop of the Kent County Courthouse building downtown. She did us one better, however! She not only gave an excellent presentation on the falcons that interested both adults AND kids, but later led the group up to Crescent Park where everyone had the chance to peer through a scope and observe the falcons showing off their aerial acrobatics. It's as if the falcons sensed they were being watched by some of their biggest fans; they were so active! On top of that, the weather was clear and beautiful. What more could we have asked for? A big thanks for Elaine for teaching us about our feathered celebrities as well as for tipping the birds off that we were watching them ; )

Dr. Lombardo checking our female Bluebird for ectoparasites such as lice and mites. Those are the two most commonly found on birds such as Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.