The spring bird banding season at Manomet started quickly this year with staff seeing high numbers of both banded birds and visitors.

 

The nets opened on April 15, and staff at the laboratory handled more than 200 birds in the first week.

 

“In the spring, we usually start out slowly,” said veteran bander Meghan Powell.  “But this year the first week was fantastic.”

 

Five different groups have visited the center in the first three weeks of this season. Banding Director Trevor Lloyd-Evans and the staff have already presented for two college ornithology classes, a class from nearby Indian Brook elementary school, a photography club and the Nasketucket bird club.

 

The staff this year consists of Powell, Megan Shave and Noemi Moreno Salazar. Powell is returning for her sixth banding season after spending the winter completing her master’s thesis on marsh birds in Maine. Shave, who is returning for her second banding season, recently received a research fellowship from the National Science Foundation and will begin a doctoral program at Michigan State University this year. Salazar is in her first banding season, but has previously worked with Manomet conservation specialist Meredith Gutowski on the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

 

“I’m looking forward to the season,” Shave said. “I’m excited to help all of our young visitors connect with nature.”