{"id":97456,"date":"2021-11-19T05:46:26","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T12:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=97456"},"modified":"2021-11-19T05:46:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T12:46:26","slug":"my-american-white-pelican-sightings-with-purple-wing-tags-123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/19\/my-american-white-pelican-sightings-with-purple-wing-tags-123\/","title":{"rendered":"My American White Pelican Sightings With Purple Wing Tags #123"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelican with purple wing tags #123 – October 15, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Last month I spotted a wing tagged American White Pelican on October 15th and saw it again on October 29th at Glover Pond and reported my sightings. On the 15th of October the American White Pelican with purple wing tags 123 was actively foraging with two other pelicans when I photographed it from a long distance. It was the first time I had seen a pelican with tags on both wings.<\/p>\n

After I got home I reported my sighting to reportband.gov<\/span><\/a> and I also emailed John Neill at johnneill@utah.gov<\/a> to let him know about my sighting. Originally I had reported the wing tags as “hot pink” but John was kind enough to let me know that they were actually purple tags. I emailed the Bird Banding Lab Staff and let them know that the tags were purple and not hot pink so they could make the correction on my sighting report.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelican with purple wing tag #123 – October 29, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

On October 29th I found the American White Pelican with purple wing tags 123 preening at Glover Pond for the second time. I was able to take better photos of the pelican that morning because it wasn’t as far away as it was the first time I spotted it.<\/p>\n

I had nearly forgotten about my wing tagged pelican sightings when I received an email telling me that I should expect to hear more about the pelican soon.<\/p>\n

\"CertificateCertificate of Appreciation – American White Pelican with purple wing tags 123<\/span><\/p>\n

Within a few hours I received this Certificate of Appreciation for my sighting report. When I checked the GPS coordinates I found that the banding location coordinates on the certificate were a bit off and the listed location was in the mountains of Idaho not near a body of water.\u00a0 I emailed Ms. Moulton, the bander, and asked if the young pelican was banded at Chesterfield Reservoir<\/span><\/a> or Twentyfour Mile Reservoir which were the only two larger bodies of water nearby. When I heard back from Ms. Moulton I learned that the tagged pelican I found was banded at Chesterfield Reservoir, Idaho when it was still too young to fly.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelican with purple wing tag 123 – Map showing distance from tagging to my sighting<\/span><\/p>\n

This map shows a red marker where the pelican was banded on the 28th of July and a small white circle where I found it here in Utah. The young pelican had flown about 134 miles almost due south from its banding location when I sighted it in October.<\/p>\n

I have been reporting banded birds of various species since 2005 and have reported more than a hundred birds of various species to date. Data from reported sightings help researchers understand the migration patterns, breeding behavior, and survival rates of the banded birds. The banded birds can have wing tags, leg flags, colored leg bands, or neck collars. Some ducks will have nasal saddles or disks as auxiliary markers.<\/p>\n

I haven’t seen an American White Pelican for a couple of weeks now. I hope that the one I found with the wings tags has a safe journey to its wintering grounds and that it will return to Utah or Idaho in the spring.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

What is needed to report a banded bird:<\/h2>\n