Banded Bird Reporting form for Public Sightings

As a banding permitee with the USGS Bird Banding Lab, Bird Rescue places metal bands (aka "federal bands") on the majority of the species that we rehabilitate and release. While this information provides us valuable information, oftentimes the metal bands can be difficult to read from afar. In addition to the federal bands, Bird Rescue places specific color markers on certain species of birds as do many other organizations to aid in the identification of the band ID #.

If you have spotted a bird with a band and/or color marker, please follow the questions below to report the sighting to the appropriate organization.
What type of band did this bird have?*

Elegant Tern with any combination of pink dye on head/chest, metal leg band, and red or orange leg bandBlue band, with or without metal band (Brown Pelican sighted on the Pacific Coast and with a single letter and two numbers, ex. A44, 4A4)Red band, with or without metal band (Snowy Egret)White band, with or without metal band (Black-crowned Night-Heron)Other - not listed above (e.g. other species with color bands, all species with only metal bands, birds with other types of markers - wing/foot, etc.)

Other birds not listed above
Reporting birds with bands that do not match any of the descriptions above
If you have sighted a green banded brown pelican in California, please report these to our friends at the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. The bird was likely part of the Refugio Oil Spill near Santa Barbara in early 2015.

If you have sighted a green or blue banded pelican in the gulf or east coast with three numbers or three letters, please report it to the Pelican Project, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey South Carolina Cooperative Research Unit and Clemson University.

If you have spotted a bird with a color marker that is not listed above, or a metal band only please make your report directly to the USGS Bird Banding Lab. They will notify the banding organization for you and reply to you with the bird's banding history.

Reporting birds with BLUE, RED, BLACK and/or METAL bands to Bird Rescue:
Reporting BLUE, RED, or WHITE color bands
Your contact info
Full Name*

First NameLast Name
E-mail*
Phone Number*

Area CodePhone Number
Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip CodeCountry
(Optional) You may add up to 5 additional email address; a copy of this submission and any requested case histories will be cc'ed to the added email addresses. Please comma separate and do not add more than 5.
Select an option below to specify how your contact information will be used. Your information may be used to contact you in the event that we, the USGS Bird Banding Lab (BBL), or another BBL permitted bander have questions regarding the sighting, or if you have requested information on the animal's case history. Bird Rescue will never sell or otherwise share your information.
Would you like to know more about this bird's rehabilitation case history or other Bird Rescue updates?*

Yes! Please send me case history and Bird Rescue updates.Yes, but please only contact me with information on the case history. I do not want to be contacted with other updates from Bird Rescue.No, I would like to opt-out of receiving all communications and updates from Bird Rescue, including case history on the banded bird.
*Case history about this banded bird, including future sightings of this bird, typically includes details on the rescue, rehabiliation treatment at our center, release of the banded bird and resightings in the wild.

Communications and updates are shared by email, snail mail, or phone and may include Bird Rescue news, wildlife emergency updates, campaign information, special event invitations and other updates.
Sighting info
Are you reporting one or multiple sightings?*

One bird, sighted one time, at one locationMultiple sightings (multiple birds or same bird sighted multiple times)
How was the bird found?*

DeadAlive
Date of sighting*

MonthDayYear
Color Band ID*
Typical format is one letter followed by two numbers. Example. A54
If you are unsure of one of the digits, enter a ? in place of the letter or number in question. Please do not guess.
Location of ink markings visible (check all that apply)*

Top of headCheeksChestNo ink visibleOther
Behaviors when observed (check all that apply)

FlyingSwimming in waterForaging for food on own (hovering over water, plunging)Begging behavior in front of adult (body held low/straight, vocalizing in front of adult)Standing/walking around on groundAbnormal: injured/limping/etc.Other
Color of leg band (select one)*

RedOrangeBand visible but could not tell colorNo color leg band present on either legNot sure if color band present or not
Metal band ID
If you have the full or partial metal ID number enter it here (typically 9 digits)
Dates of additional sightings for this band (only enter dates relating to a single band ID; for additional band IDs, submit the form again)
Did you report this band to the USGS Bird Banding Lab at www.reportband.gov? If not, we will report it for you.*

Yes, I did report the bird to the banding lab.No, I did not report the bird to the banding lab.
Location Details (e.g. on Pier 39, roof of Jacks Seafood Restaurant, etc.), please enter city and state at a minimum*

0/100
Observations or other notes (Anything you noticed?, e.g. bird was plunge diving with a group of other pelicans)
Photos
If you have photos of the bird and/or its band, please upload them below. Click the "Upload a File" button to select your first file; to upload additional photos, click the button again. A maximum of 10 files may be uploaded. Acceptable extensions include: jpeg, jpg, png, tif, tiff, bmp, svg, pdf, zip, heic, heif. If you have more than two images to send to us, please upload them as a single pdf or zip file. Maximum file size is 10MB. To submit multiple reports at once, download the txt file from the bottom of the page, fill out one row per unique sighting - required info is indicated in the column headings, save the file, and upload the completed txt file using the "upload a file" button.
Upload a File

Cancelof
Photo use permissions:*

Yes, Bird Rescue may use this photo for scientific reporting, agency communications &/or to share with others interested in this bird.No, Bird Rescue may use this photo for scientific purposes only.
Good images are crucial to helping International Bird Rescue to preserve wildlife. We always give proper attribution to photos submitted, unless you request otherwise. Please consider giving us permission to utilize the photo as defined in the options above. In all cases, your photo may be provided to the USGS BBL or another BBL permitted bander as needed for scientific reporting purposes.
Photo credit should be attributed to:*

Self (name as submitted above)Other (name provided below)
Photo Credit Name*

First NameLast Name
Photo Credit Contact Email, if available:
example@example.com
All banding details received through this form may be forwarded or submitted to the USGS Bird Banding Lab, the organization that manages and permits all banding programs (including ours) in North America. Additionally, if your submitted sighting details match to a different banding program than ours, we may forward the report on to the correct banding program contact.
If you encounter issues with this form, please send us an email.

If you have other questions, concerns or suggestions, you can reach here: Contact Us
Should be Empty:

Reporting birds with bands that do not match any of the descriptions above

Reporting BLUE, RED, or WHITE color bands

Your contact info

Sighting info

Photos