MAPS is a "constant-effort" mistnetting and banding program, created
by the Institute for Bird Populations in 1989 to provide critical data
for understanding the status (and changes in status) of North American
breeding birds. At the present time there are nearly 500 banding stations,
in 17 states, which are participating in the program. These are located
on military bases and reservations, and much of the funding for the program
has come from the Department of Defense. Since 1993, 6 of these stations
have been on Ft. Riley,
an infantry training base between Manhattan and Junction City KS. Since
1998, three volunteers (Patricia Yeager, Hoogy Hoogheem, and Dave Rintoul)
from the Northern Flint
Hills Audubon Society have been assisting in this effort at Ft. Riley.
Volunteer opportunities are also available at other MAPS sites; for further
information check the MAPS website
or contact Dan Froehlich at
IBP.
Besides offering an opportunity to contribute to an important avian monitoring project, the MAPS volunteer program provides a chance to learn about mist-netting and banding, a chance to get hands-on experience with North America's breeding birds, and an opportunity to learn a lot more about bird identification. Additionally, since the majority of the mistnetting activity is in the summertime, when other birding opportunities become somewhat sparse, it is a good way to get additional birding experience at an otherwise slow time of year. It is also, as we all have discovered, an excellent way to leave your everyday concerns back in the office or workplace. When you have to concentrate on untangling a bird, identifying it, measuring it, aging it, and recording all the data, everything else is pushed out of your mind. And that can be a wonderful thing. If someone wants to write a book on the "Zen of Bird-banding," I'd contribute a chapter or two...
As an additional incentive to get you to volunteer for this excellent program, here are some links to some images of birds from Ft. Riley, as well as a few other images to help give you a better feeling for the opportunities which you can take advantage of.
Images from 2001
The hazards of banding Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
Empids in the net and in the hand
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! June 1, 2001
Our first juvenile bird for 2001 - Eastern
Bluebird
Kentucky Warbler, Ovenbird and Scarlet Tanager all banded on the same day in July 1999
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers (includes a Quicktime Movie)
