Photograph courtesy of Ann Shanahan
Red arrow Lincoln Karim, for his thoughts click here, palemale.com
For John Blakeman's, yellow arrow, take on what caused the wound, see below
The photograph on Palemale.com showing a banded Red-tail with a spot of blood in fact shows that the band was NOT improperly fitted. And there is no way the blood was caused by the band.
I’ve banded dozens of wild raptors, and this photo shows conclusively that the band was perfectly fitted. Look closely at the photo. On the left side of the leg, where the band wraps back around, on the lower edge, there is a dark shadow along that edge band. That shadow exists because there is a gap between the band and the leg, creating the shadow here.
There is no band-caused swelling. The bird has bumped something during a kill, a very common experience for these predators. Wild Red-tails commonly have bumps and bruises such as this. Notice that the bump is small and localized on the front of the tarsus, resulting from an impact from prey or an object encountered during a kill. The lesion does not expand around the entire leg, as it would if the band were too tight.
This is false evidence against the use of bands on raptors. The band here had absolutely nothing to do with the bruise.
And of course, this very bird went on a number of successful years after this photo was taken. The band was irrelevant.
–John Blakeman
Donegal Browne
2 comments:
Or, that part of the band bulging out could have hit her leg when she was leaning forwards.
More and more I think banding animals except in the cases where they are extremely endangered is something that probably should not be done. I ask myself, would I want to have a band of proportional size to those on my leg for the rest of my life?
Sorry, not so. That "part bulging out" can't possibly "hit her leg." You are unfamiliar with USF&WS bands. They are soft aluminum and even big ones used on raptors such as this weight less than a gram. They cause no more problems for the bird than a collar on a dog or bit and bridle on an horse.
And you have already had a "band of proportional size" if you've ever worn a comfortable bracelet.
--John Blakeman
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