Seen a banded bird? Report it here
Since 2009, all released Brown Pelican patients are banded with special, highly readable blue bands to aid in sighting and reporting. More than 1200 pelicans have been banded since this program started.
This year, an incident affecting Elegant Terns in Long Beach, resulted in hundreds of orphaned chicks needing care. As of August, 2021, we have banded 480 Elegant Tern chicks and are continuing to care for another 100. Upon release, the birds are marked with temporary pink feather ink on their heads and chests, in addition to a metal leg band on one leg and a red or orange leg band on the other leg. These markers will help us monitor the Terns post release.
Use this form page to report banded or inked Elegant Terns, Blue-banded Brown Pelicans, Red-banded Snowy Egrets, and White-banded Black-crowned Night-Herons. *Note* on Brown Pelican bands: the blue bands that we use have with a single letter and two numbers, ex. A44, 4A4. Only reports for one of our color band programs should be made using this form.
For more info on our banding programs as well as other notable banding programs in California and the U.S., please visit our Banding Program page. You can also report metal alloy banded birds directly to the USGS Bird Banding Lab (BBL).
Please note: If the bird you have seen is injured, please follow the instructions on the found a bird page for getting the bird to an appropriate rehabilitator or finding the appropriate contact to get help for the bird.
Thank you to all the citizen scientists who have made this program a success.