Tagged American Oystercatcher, what does it mean? (1 Viewer)

[Oooopossum]

Hi there!
I recently found an American Oystercatcher at Honeymoon Island, Florida and after reviewing the photos I noticed it was tagged on both legs. Both legs had a red tag at the thigh with a "25" on it, and then on its left leg by the talon is a silver anklet with some inscription on it. I was wondering what kind of tag this is and what does it indicate? There were a number of other Oystercatchers around that did not have any tags, it was just this one that had it.

 

[Oooopossum]

With some further research I'd thought I'd share what I found. It appears that this style of tag is from the American Oystercatcher Working Group and indicates this specimen is from Florida, and is at the oldest 12-13 years old!

Sources:

http://amoywg.org/research-sites/

https://amoywg.org/research-sites/florida/

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

Wild birds are ringed (or banded) to get knowledge of their movements, breeding success etc. There should be an American resource that tells you how to contact the ringer / bander. The red rings are to ensure more recoveries.

I see you've found contact details.

 

[nartreb]

It means somebody working in cooperation with the American Oystercatcher Working Group put bands on it.

Here's how to read the bands: http://amoywg.org/banding-re-sighting/reading-band-codes/

They have a reporting form at the bottom of this page (looks terrible in my browser, but scroll down):

https://ancperch.org/amoy/public_menu.php?state_amoy=FL&id=

For reference, Honeymoon Island is in Pinellas County.