Bird Banding Homeschool Day!
Date – Time
Tuesday
– 6:10 AM - 12:30 PM
Location
Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont - at the Council House. Park in the main parking area and you are just a few steps away from the banding station in the Council House.
Additional Information
The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont has invited BHEA to come to a bird banding day! These days used to be open to the public, but they have been held privately since the pandemic hit. We can accommodate up to 30 people, and if we do not fill up that number with BHEA folks, I will open the opportunity up to other homeschoolers in the area.
This is a great opportunity for all ages to learn about the why and how of bird research on the Tremont campus while also meeting Tremont's community science coordinator and having the chance to ask about other community science opportunities that might be a good fit for your family at Tremont. This activity is FREE! Participants will hike to the nets on "net runs" to check and see if any birds are caught in the net. Some folks might help out by carrying a bird back to the banding station. At the banding station, you can learn about the birds of Tremont, why bird banding is done there, and how we protect and respect the birds in the process. If you like walking through the river, come in shoes you would like to do that in - one of the net runs sometimes involves walking across the river.
If you want to help with net set-up, you have to arrive a little before sunrise - and the nets will then be up until approximately noon (usually more like 12:30 or 1). I would encourage you to come a little before dawn and stay the whole time the nets are open. You never know what will happen! But it's okay to stop in for an hour or two while the nets are open and then move on if you prefer.
Bring snacks, a lunch if you want to stay until lunch time, swimsuits if you want to take a dip in the lovely swimming hole behind the offices after you are done at banding, and plenty of water to drink.