For the first time ever, Audubon Florida and FWC biologists coordinated to band American Oystercatcher chicks on a gravel rooftop.  American Oystercatcher chicks are usually banded on sandy beaches where the birds typically nest. As birds continue to seek unconventional nesting habitats, researchers are now banding chicks in nests on area rooftops to provide more data on how the birds' choice of nesting habitat affects the overall health of the oystercatcher population.   

Note: Banding was conducted by FWC staff with authorizations under a federal banding permit.

Chick protections installed last year made this year's banding effort possible. In 2022 the building managers allowed Audubon to install fencing around the rooftop, which made it safer for researchers to access the roof and safer for chicks by preventing them from falling off. The team worked quickly and carefully to catch, band, and release the chicks—the birds only have two to three more weeks to grow before learning to fly and leaving the roof.

Joe Marchionno, the FWC oystercatcher bander, explains that the data from the resighted bird bands “will allow us to understand survival, individual movements, and site fidelity, as well as learn how rooftop nesting oystercatchers are contributing to the overall population.”

In 2021, Marchionno and Audubon staff banded two rooftop-breeding adult pairs of American Oystercatchers and have already seen interesting data come from resighting those banded individuals. Click here to learn more.

Banded Birds: See Something, Say Something! 

Bird banding is like scientists putting a note in a bottle and tossing it back into the sea of migration. The note only gives us information if someone observes and reports it when the bottle arrives on a far-off shore! Because of your efforts, we can learn more about the movements, populations, and breeding success of our banded species.

If you see a banded bird:

• Note date, time, & location — with GPS if possible

• Note the species

• Note which leg or legs have bands

• Note the color and order of bands — upper or lower. If the band or flag has an alphanumeric code, try to note the code

• Take a picture! Digital cameras work great through scopes or binoculars and sometimes enable eagle-eyed biologists to record numbers off of the band. 

For information on how to report birds of all different species visit: FL.Audubon.org/birds/banded-birds.

To check out an American Oystercatcher banding day from 2021, click here.