Koloa Banding Program
In December 2010, we initiated a Koloa banding program on Kaua‘i to investigate the movement patterns of the elusive Koloa maoli and to assess the feasibility of using band resighting to estimate population size. As of December 2015, over 1,100 Koloa have been captured and banded on Kaua‘i. Each duck receives a standard USGS metal band and a uniquely coded, colored leg band. Birds captured at Hanalei NWR receive yellow (y) or white (w) bands with black alpha-numeric codes, while birds captured at Hule‘ia NWR receive black (bk) bands with white codes (see photos below). The alpha-numeric code consists of two characters, and the code is repeated twice on each band with the first character of each code underlined (e.g., 24 24). Bands are read from left leg to right leg. For example, the duck in the left photograph below has a metal band on the left leg and yellow 59 band on the right leg (AL / y59). We then collect band-resight information during Hanalei NWR surveys and Kaua‘i-wide surveys. These band sightings provide a minimally invasive approach for documenting movements patterns on Kaua‘i.
Getting involved!!!
Please report sightings of banded Koloa! Our surveys include only a subset of wetlands on Kaua‘i, and therefore, there are many sites that we cannot cover. Furthermore, with over 1,000 banded ducks on the landscape and your help scanning for color bands, we greatly increase the likelihood of documenting inter-island movement between Kaua‘i and other islands. So, whether you live on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, Molokai, or the Big Island, we need your help in sighting banded Koloa!
If you see a banded Koloa, please use the "Report Bands" page on this website to report that information. If possible, please provide the date, location, and band combination. Even if band codes cannot be read, observations of just band color are also very useful! So, please report all band observations. After you report a color band, you will receive the details about when and where that bird was originally banded, and we will add your observation to the Koloa Band-resight Map (coming soon).
If you find a dead Koloa with a color band and/or USGS band, please report that information (date, location, band number) on this site (Report Bands) and on the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory website (www.reportband.gov).
If you see a banded Koloa, please use the "Report Bands" page on this website to report that information. If possible, please provide the date, location, and band combination. Even if band codes cannot be read, observations of just band color are also very useful! So, please report all band observations. After you report a color band, you will receive the details about when and where that bird was originally banded, and we will add your observation to the Koloa Band-resight Map (coming soon).
If you find a dead Koloa with a color band and/or USGS band, please report that information (date, location, band number) on this site (Report Bands) and on the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory website (www.reportband.gov).
Download the Koloa band resight flyer (click here).
Photos of banded Koloa:
Banding process:
Koloa Band-Resight Map
Coming soon...
Copyright 2013-2015 Christopher Malachowski