How can we catch birds ?


Birds are caught for ringing in a variety of ways. About twenty percent are ringed as chicks in the nest; this is valuable because their precise age and origin are then known. The method most frequently used to catch fully-grown birds is the mist net. This is a fine net erected between poles, and is designed to catch birds in flight. This method is very effective but birds can only be removed safely from mist nets by experienced ringers who have received special training.
How does mist net work?


The mist net is deployed in an area in which the target species occur. The ringer sets the nets so it is not readily visible to the bird, against a dark background or in the shade .the nets trap the bird in flight. A mist net has considerable ‘give’, and the bird is quite gently decelerated to a stop, drops into the pocket created by the shelf-strings of the net and gets entangled. Most individual birds of most species lie quite still in the net soon.

Weather:-
A bird ringer soon takes a keen interest in weather forecasts. Two of the weather conditions which adversely affect mist netting are wind and rain .extreme heat and extreme cold are also hazards. Do not initiate a ringing expedition in adverse conditions. If the weather turns bad, you have a choice between dismantling the nets and furling them.

Handling and storage of birds:-
Extraction techniques:-
Extraction of bird from a net is probably the most difficult part of the whole netting and ringing operation to extract a bird from a net it is a skill most people take a good while to acquire.
General rules for handling birds:-
1- hold birds firmly enough to prevent them from struggling but not so tight as to put pressure on the body .if they are held too tight , breathing is restricted and the bird will start gasping .
2- Never place bags containing birds on the ground where someone may stand on them.
3- Never place bags containing birds on the chair where someone may set on them.
4- Never hang bags containing birds in places where they may be forgotten.
5- Never hang bags containing birds over water, not even temporarily.
After catching birds:
After we catch birds by mist net. We release bird from the net gently. Then we put the bird in special bags tell we ring them.
Bird bags:
Bird bags are the most widely used device for keeping birds..
Ringer's hold: the ringer's hold is firm but gentle grip on the bird with its wing closed and its back against the palm of the hand with the heat between index and middle finger. With the ring and little finger lightly closed around the lower part of the bird's body. The legs can be easily held between the thumb and index finger so that the ring can be fitted.
Metal ring: the metal rings have serial number and a return address stamped on them. So that on our metal rings that we use is the address of Palestine wild life which is' Palestine wild life'.
Ringing equipment: ringing pliers, wing and tail ruler, spring scales, pencil or pen, data recording sheet, bird molt card, bird identification guide, calipers and ring remover.
Ringing:-
Replacing the ring on the bird's leg: To determine ring size of we measure the thickest part of the tarsus at three positions, top middle and bottom. Then we chose ring size larger than the biggest of the three measurements. Then we use the pliers to put the ring on the leg of the bird. If the ring not fit well on the leg it has to be removed by the ring remover. And if the leg of the bird is broken we have not to ring it.

The first step of ringing after putting the ring is to identify the bird's species. This is done by using special books. The book that we used is birds of Middle East .and there are other books for European and American birds.
Then we measure
1- Age: there are many ways to determine the age of the bird. such as from the feathers, if the feather are new or fresh the bird is new but if they are worn the bird is old, there are numbers give to each age, for example: the number for very young bird is 3j , (j means : juvenile) , and 4 for adult birds.
2- Sex: the most used method for determine the sex of the bird is the variation in plumage patterns between male and female, in some birds we can know the sex by knowing the length of the wing of bird. For example: in cettis warbler the length of the wing of the male is larger than 58 mm and for female is shorter than 57mm.aslo we can know the sex by incubation patch, and by the shape of cloacae, in many species it is possible to determine the sex by the shape of the external sexual parts because these became enlarged during breeding season.
3- Fat scores: kasier developed a method where the fat is rated in a nine point scales from 0 to 8 .this depend on the amount of the fat on the body of the birds. The fat has yellowish color so that we can put a number by rating the amount of the fat. 0 means no fat and 8 means that whole the body covered by fats. We measure the fat because it has essential role in migration; the birds which migrate have a lot of fat because they will use it during their migration.
4- Muscles: muscles scores like fat,, there are 5 number from 0 to 4 for muscles scores , the 4 number is put for the bird which has hard wide muscles and number 0 for small muscles. Muscles also have to do with migration. For example the birds which migrate long way have strong hard muscles.
5- Wing length: wing length is defined as the distance of the closed wing from the foremost extremity of the carpus to the tip of the long primary feather. The wing length has a long tradition of being the fundamental taxonomic measurement of birds. These measurement maybe be of value:-
a- in separating the rate of the same species
b- in distinguishing sexes
c- in studying the growth rate of the juvenile
6- Weight of birds: we use electronic or simple scales in measuring the wing length.
7-molting: ringing is very useful way to study molting of birds. We can know from studying molting the changes that happened on the birds during their life .
In ringing we have to put the date and the time at which we catch and ring the birds.

Does ringing affect the birds?
The simple answer is no. Ringing is carried out by skilled ringers with the utmost consideration for the birds’ welfare. It is not surprising that ringing has little effect on birds because relative to the bird’s weight, wearing a ring is similar to a person carrying a mobile phone. It is essential that birds are not affected unduly by the fitting and wearing of a ring; if they were, ringing would not tell us how normal birds behave. Many studies have shown that birds ringed during the breeding season quickly return to incubating eggs, or feeding chicks, once they are released, and long distance migrants continue to travel thousands of miles between breeding and wintering grounds.
Does the bird ringing can be executed by anyone??
The answer is absolutely no; because bird ringing should be done by skilled ringers who have take many courses in bird ringing. Bird ringing likes any science when someone wants to work in it he should be has a certificate allowed him to do ringing. Ringing is only carried out by qualified people so that the birds are not harmed or distressed.
At the end I want to tell you that we have in Palestine a very good site for bird ringing and watching. Each year we catch thousand of birds of different species.
www.wildlife-pal.org
This has been done by: Baha' Ishaq