Under authority from the US Government’s Fish and Wildlife program, banding is permitted by registered, qualified banders.  The purpose of banding is to identify a bird. Once it's entered into a nationwide USFWS database, if the bird is captured again, or found dead, it is possible to know where it was born or captured.
        In the Westport area banding of Osprey was initiated by Gilbert and Josephine Fernandez in 1963 and continued through the 1999 breeding season, a period of 36 years.  Also during this time, Alan Poole did some of the banding, including color banding. 
        Banding consists of placing a kind of aluminum bracelet around the leg of the bird and then squeezing it shut with pliers. The band has a unique number for each bird and also a telephone number and address for contacting the Fish and Wildlife Service to provide them with information as to where or when a dead bird was found.
        No banding was done on the Westport Osprey from 2000 to 2007, but in 2008 the practice was resumed and more than 100 juvenile Osprey were banded. Information on the banding was submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service. 
        In installing transmitters on three male Ospreys in 2009, we found that two of them had bands and we were able to identify that they were fledged in the Westport River area in 1996 and 1997.  Also one adult female was captured and she had a band from that same period. 
        We expect to continue banding of the young Osprey in the Westport area this year and in future years.  We will also add a second color band which will help to easily determine where and when the bird was banded and fledged when and if it returns in future years.