Resources

Manuals, Field Methods
Bander Safety
Conference Proceedings and Articles
Proposals
Avian Influenza Research Project Resources
Museum Cases for your Banding Station's Specimens

Manuals, Field Methods

• Handbook of field methods for monitoring landbirds. C. John Ralph, Geoffrey R. Geupel, Peter Pyle, Thomas E. Martin, and David S. DeSante. 1993. PSW-GTR-144. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. Albany, CA.
  • Manual de métodos de campo para el monitoreo de aves terrestres (Spanish translation). C. John Ralph, Geoffrey R. Geupel, Peter Pyle, Thomas E. Martin, David S. DeSante, and Borja Mila. 1996. PSW-GTR-159. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. Albany, CA.
• North American Banding Council bander's manuals. Information on obtaining these manuals is available at http://www.nabanding.net/pubs.html. Manuals available (most in English, Spanish, and French):
  • North American bander's study guide
  • North American bander's manual for banding passerines and near-passerines
  • Instructor's guide to training passerine bird banders in North America
  • North American manual for banding hummingbirds
  • North American manual for raptor banding techniques
  • North American manual for banding shorebirds
• The body grasp technique: a rapid method of removing birds from mist nets. C. John Ralph. 2005. North American Bird Bander 30(2):65-70.
• Recommended methods for monitoring change in bird populations by counting and capture of migrants David J. T. Hussell and C. John Ralph. 2005. North American Bird Bander 30(1):6-20.
• A syllabus of training methods and resources for monitoring landbirds. C. John Ralph, Geoffrey Geupel, Stephanie Jones, Kathleen Milne, and Michael Rigney. 1993. U.S. Forest Service, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Arcata, California.
  • Tecnicas de capacitación de personal para el monitoreo de aves terrestres (Spanish translation). C. John Ralph, Geoffrey Geupel, Stephanie Jones, Kathleen Milne, and Michael Rigney. 1993. U.S. Forest Service, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Arcata, California.
• Results of a U.S./Canada workshop on monitoring of landbirds during migration and recommendations towards a North American Migration Monitoring Program (MMP). Peter Blancher, André Cyr, Sam Droege, David Hussell, and Len Thomas. 1994. Unpublished report. (pdf, 4.3 MB)

Bander Safety

• Capture and banding of landbirds using mist nets: Job Hazard Analysis. C. John Ralph, Linda L. Long, Josée Rousseau, Sherri Miller, and Kim Hollinger. 2006. Available in hard copy or pdf from Linda Long or C. John Ralph. This formal document has been approved by the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, meeting all prevailing federal safety requirements.

Conference Proceedings and Articles

• Bird conservation implementation and integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California; Volumes 1 and 2. C. John Ralph and Terrell D. Rich, editors. 2005. PSW-GTR-191. USFS Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Albany, CA; 1,294 p. Also available in hard copy and CD from Richard Schneider, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526-2098 or rschneider@fs.fed.us.
• Monitoring bird populations using mist nets. C. John Ralph and Erica H. Dunn, editors. 2004. Studies in Avian Biology no. 29. Allen Press, Lawrence, KS. 211 p. View table of contents. Ordering information is on the second page of the linked document.
  • The use of mist nets as a tool for bird population monitoring. 2004. Erica H. Dunn and C. John Ralph. Pp 1-6 in C.J. Ralph, and E.H. Dunn (Eds). Monitoring bird populations using mist nets. Studies in Avian Biology no. 29.
• The status of the Willow and Pacific-slope flycatchers in northwestern California and southern Oregon. Ralph, C.J. and K. Hollinger. 2003. P. 104-117 in: Ecology and conservation of the Willow Flycatcher. M. Sogge, B. Kus, M. Whitfield, and S. Sferra, eds. Studies in Avian Biology 26.
• Monitoring bird populations by point counts. C. John Ralph, John R. Sauer, and Sam Droege, tech. eds. 1995. PSW-GTR-149. USFS Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Albany, CA. 181 p.

Proposals

• Ecological strategies of resource utilization among the birds of a Colombian Tropical Forest. D. F. DeSante and C. J. Ralph. 1971.

Museum Cases for your Banding Station's Specimens

We have some exciting news. The NABC has obtained a source of free standard museum specimen cabinets that are being stored for the moment in the Washington DC area. These are about one cubic yard (40 inches deep, 29 inches wide, and 40 inches high), with about 10-15 specimen trays. They would be available to NABC stations for shipping costs. Click here for an application to become an official NABC member station. For more information, please contact C. J. Ralph (click for contact details).

Through the efforts of the North American Banding Council (NABC), a nationwide permit has been obtained from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow banding stations to have readily available bird specimens for training and data quality. Many birds come to stations, salvaged from various sources, including the occasional sad mortality from our contentious efforts.

If you would like the details of the permit, please contact C. J. Ralph. Some states will require an additional permit, but many consider the federal banding permit sufficient.