We have been busy since my last blog post, as most of our chicks have reached 3 weeks of age and banding time began again! I discussed what goes into banding and taking chick measurements in a blog post last year, ‘A blue band here, a blue band there’ (which you should definitely check out if you want to know some more specifics of everything that goes into getting measurements and banding our pelican chicks). For any new fans (or those who don’t want to scroll down and read more, no judgement here!), we measure the chicks in order to assess their health and growth so far, and band them with metal and color bands to aid in our identification of individuals as the chicks continue to mature and begin moving around the colony. Our bands will also be used when the chicks fledge and leave the island in late July/early August to continue to identify individuals and give us information about their whereabouts as they continue to mature to adulthood. We’ve had a few resights of imatures from last year already, from Florida to Mexico, so who knows where else they might go or where our 2018 chicks will fly to when they fledge!
Rochelle