Audubon Rockies operates four banding stations that operate under cooperation with the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program. MAPS is a continent-wide bird population monitoring program that provides critical demographic information on terrestrial birds. The data collected on productivity, survival, and population sizes are essential for conserving North American birds. The MAPS program is endorsed by both the Monitoring Working Group of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Program and the Biological Resources Division as an important tool for monitoring birds.
Each year we band, age, sex, and assess the health of birds at four distinct locations throughout Wyoming. We have one station in northeast Wyoming within Keyhole State Park, two stations near Casper including Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, and one station near Laramie at the private Lindsay Ranch. Banding starts the last week of May and ends in early August. Audubon Rockies provides opportunities for volunteers to participate in the MAPS program, through our banding stations.
Training usually occurs prior to the first banding date and provides volunteers with the skills required to aid in the operation of the station and the collection of data.