Kent Farm Banding Station

07/21/2025

Today we netted 26 birds. We had a beautiful variety, including our first hairy woodpecker of the season, two American redstarts, a Louisiana waterthrush, an indigo bunting, etc., etc.  Many young people always bring lots of joy to the session! 

07/04/2025

Another fantastic day of banding at Kent Farm Research Station! We netted 30 birds, including quite a nice variety. We also had a lot of human guests which makes it so much fun. We love answering questions and sharing our birds with friends.  we are so honored to have our state ornithologist, Allisyn Gillet, visiting our station and placeing GPS trackers on some of our wood thrushes. 
Here are a few photo highlights:


06/30/2025

Today was our slowest day on the books for MAPS banding at KFBS, but we had a couple of awesome highlights! One of our first birds of the day was an ovenbird and our last was a  juvenile black-and-white warbler, both of which are pretty uncommon at our site. We had a total of 13 birds. There was lots of rain and we ended up with the nets closed for a couple of hours.  We were so happy to host the REU students from IU, but were sorry the rain put a damper on their visit. 

06/21/2025

We have had three solid banding sessions so far this summer. I’m including a few highlights!


11/23/2024

An article from the economist on unlikely but possible events for 2025, check out the one on Nature (animal get their own bank accounts) and how sensors on animals might relay needs and call for assistance...

In the modern age, the unbelievable has become commonplace. Here are ten unbelievable-sounding things that could happen in 2025

09/15/2024

Such a beautiful bird, hope to reestablish zoo-bred birds in the wild!

As habitats disappear, biologists are trying to find new homes for birds like the Guam kingfisher and other animals beyond their native habitats.

09/12/2024

A new idea to preserve biodiversity, lease public lands to conservation organizations!

You can now lease federal property to restore it, not just to mine, cut or graze it.

08/30/2024

Brought back from the brink but need to be taught their migratory route!

Extinct in central Europe for 300 years, 36 northern bald ibis are following an ultralight aircraft on their long-forgotten migration route from Austria to Spain

08/26/2024

We wrapped up our 2024 season, with a very slow session. We had a lot of visitors, including a Boy Scout troop, who kept things lively and interesting. We had a total of 318 birds this summer, including 220 new bands and 98 recaptured birds. It is exciting to imagine all the things that will happen to our Kent Farm bird populations over the next year. We hope they encounter few tropical storms throughout their migration and have fair weather to get them across the Gulf of Mexico and back. 

08/20/2024

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/health/pets-disease-surveillance.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EU4.KRxX.Tdp-bPKhBBmf&smid=url-share

Like most countries, the U.S. has no comprehensive national system for monitoring disease in companion animals — which leaves pets and people at risk.

08/14/2024

We all owe Frank Moore a vote of thanks for alerting us to the importance of stopover ecology, thank you Frank!

New research supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation using two decades worth of data could change how scientists think about bird migrations and the…

08/14/2024

What good is a bird? Does it have inherent value as one of god's creatures or nature's 'products' ? Those wishing to recruit pragmatic people to conserve biodiversity refer to
'ecological services.' Here's an example..

Loss of vultures due to accidental poisoning resulted in more than 100,000 human deaths per year in India.