Bird Band Update 9/16

[West Jersey Detecting]

This is one of those "I almost threw it out" finds. When I looked closely at it this evening I knew immediately what I had found. It says:

WRITE F&W SERV.
582-51818
WASHINGTON D.C. USA


It is an old bird band used by the Fish & Wildlife Service. There is a website run by the USGS which you can enter the data in to find the species of the bird that once wore this band, as well as where and when the bird was banded. Apparently this band is older than the database covers. I got an email saying that it may take some time to research the information on the bird this came from. In exchange for providing the data to the USGS, a certificate of appreciation is being sent showing all the information on the bird.


9/16 Update: See my reply below

 

[kg6yll]

Re: Have you ever found one of these?

Never found one but very cool. Give us an update if you get any info.

KG6YLL

 

[finderzzs]

Re: Have you ever found one of these?

Yeah, it was a long time ago. I think you give it to the DLNR, and I got back a nice paper stating what it was, where it was banded, etc. They need that info to track the critters. Cool find

 

[dex378]

Re: Have you ever found one of these?

Pretty cool man, something a little different! Looking forward to the follow up.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

September 16th update:

I received my Certificate of Appreciation from the USGS this evening. The bird was a European Starling, banded on December 13th, 1960 in Linwood New Jersey. I was exactly one month old on that day!!!

 

[dex378]

So cool!

 

[Narthoniel]

wow, thats awesome, waht a neat thing to find!

 

[JP]

Wow Neil, that is so neat and nice of them to send you a certificate like that.

Congrats on doing a good thing. I'm sure others may find them and just pitch them in the garbage.

Good luck on your future hunts.

JP

 

[kimsdad]

Thanks for the update, Neil. I was thinking about your original post and wondering if you had heard back.

Cool that it's that old!

 

[minton7]

my grandpa used to have pigeons.... racing ones.... homing ones etc....... very cool what you did..... even cooler to think that over 48 yrs ago that tag was on a bird that left clear out there and ended up on the other side of the country...... congrats on a very cool item......

 

[Nana40]

Awesome that you received the info on it, Neil! Will look great in your display!

Nana

 

[Bartman]

Neil, that is pretty cool. As a duck hunter, it is always neat to shoot a banded bird and see the history behind it. You must have gotten express service for such an old band. It usually takes about a year to get the paper work back. Congrats!

 

[Dirt Dobber]

WTG Neil, When I first saw the picture I thought it had been on a Dove. Now my only thought is that I didn't know those birds wre still nesting in November(in you area). Wonder if that was a warm Fall in 1960? D.D. Reread your post and realize that you were 1 month old not the bird. D.D.

 

[pjroo33]

That is a very cool find! Thanks for posting!

 

[Locke]

Way cool...nice cert.

 

[mastereagle22]

I found a Racing Pigeon band last year at Caldwell. Tried for three weeks to get a hold of the guy that owned the bird it was on and he never would call me back. So I gave up.


Cool Certificate.

 

[Monty]

Neat find and info. I found one in a park beneath the edge of a a huge rock. It was from a homing pigeon that was raced some time back in the 1940's. They didn't start keeping good records until the 50s. It had a date and a number on it but that was about all they could tell me. Monty

 

[Indianhead Jones]

Interesting find, Neil!! In 28 years of metal detecting, I've always wanted to find one, and never have. Nice certificate! Maybe someday I'll be able to turn one in!

Larry

 

[treasurefiend]

Cool

 

[DJ_Quinn]

That's pretty cool! It's nice to know the history as well. An interesting find, congrats!