Ever run into trouble trying to assign a 4-letter code to a North American bird? Did you even realize that not every bird has a banding code? Chris West has taken on the surprisingly sticky task of parsing American avian Alpha Codes over at North American Birding.
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.
Any idea where this gull was tagged? The tag looks to be S894. It was photographed by a friend of mine in Duluth MN. Its a Herring Gull that seems to have it’s first winter plummage.
Thoughts? Thanks
@Sandy Gordon: Any birds with bands or tags can be reported here and they will get back to you when they figure out where it was marked. http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/bblretrv/