Pelican-sicles

Post date: Mar 5, 2013 7:01:00 AM

My research assistant and I have attached tracking devices to a lot of birds, but neither of us has ever attached a harness to a pelican. Harnesses are intended to stay on the bird for life-- or, at least, for the life of the transmitter, which can be up to six years-- so correct attachment is extremely important. With this in mind, we set out for Mississippi State University last month to learn the tricks of the trade.

Experimental ponds at Mississippi State

Our host was Tommy King of the USDA-- he's tagged more pelicans than anyone else (mostly Whites, a few Browns) and knows how to attach a harness in five minutes that can stay on for at least five years. He also happens to have a freezer full of bird carcasses, which he collects post-mortem for study. We had the chance to practice on a frozen American white pelican as well as several Double-crested cormorants.

Proper transmitter attachment

Although a frozen bird doesn't move nearly as much as a live one, this gave us the chance to see where the harness straps should sit on the bird in order to avoid restricting wing movements, how to tie and secure knots in the ribbon that forms the harness, and how to position the transmitter itself. We still have some work ahead of us to reach Tommy's level, but we left feeling more confident in our ability to quickly and safely attach units to pelicans. All that remains is to catch some non-frozen birds...

On the way back, we saw some Red-cockaded woodpeckers, a donkey, and a nice sunset.