Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Backyard Birding => Topic started by: cairnstone on May 29, 2015, 07:17:02 PM

Title: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on May 29, 2015, 07:17:02 PM

I have a male Yellow-variant House Finch hanging around my feeders today. He is banded. As you can see he has a blue band on his right leg and a green one on his left leg that reads CCAC 271. It would be really cool to find out exactly who he is.

(http://i57.tinypic.com/317axbc.jpg)

(http://i59.tinypic.com/333gwg7.jpg)

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: Reuven_M on May 29, 2015, 07:27:24 PM

Report it at reportband.gov and you will find out about the bird's history, although it may take quite a while (months) to hear back

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on May 29, 2015, 07:43:21 PM

Thank you for the response Reuven, but when I try to submit the band number at that site it says invalid band number. Perhaps there is another number there I did not catch.

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: Reuven_M on May 29, 2015, 07:49:13 PM

Maybe try just emailing them all the relevant information (the email is on that site)?

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: John on May 29, 2015, 07:49:24 PM

Those don't look like government bands, so I don't think you'll get anything from reportband.gov

This is likely an escaped cage bird.

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on May 29, 2015, 07:58:22 PM

I've never heard of a caged House Finch before.

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: John on May 29, 2015, 08:01:25 PM

Me neither.  I would just expect to see a standard metal band on a wild banded bird.

And it would explain the colour.

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on May 29, 2015, 08:06:24 PM

CCAC comes up as Canadian Council On Animal Care. I wonder if this is the bander? I do get Yellow-variant House Finches from time to time but never a banded one.

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on June 01, 2015, 07:55:08 PM

The banded finch is still here. He sings up a storm. I hope he sticks around.

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on June 03, 2015, 07:50:20 PM

He is still here and very vocal. I have got his whole band numbers now. He has a vertical CCAC on the band and a vertical 14 on the band (I am guessing that's his birth year). Then he has a horizontal 271 on the band. I have fired off a bunch of emails to try and identify him, but with no luck. I get about 1 Yellow variant House Finch per year. I am guessing I will not likely find out who this guy is. His breastbone appears to be getting bare which I hope is molting rather than some affliction.

(http://i62.tinypic.com/2r62ngm.jpg)

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: Paul O'Toole on June 04, 2015, 06:36:46 AM

This ontario banding station may be able to point you in the right direction, see contact info on top left corner of site page.

http://www.peptbo.ca/

Title: Re: Yellow-variant House Finch. Banded.
Post by: cairnstone on June 12, 2015, 11:50:43 AM

Thanks all for the replies. I have contacted several bird banding organizations and none could help. Oh well, at least I have a Yellow variant House Finch sticking around. All the others I have had here never stayed more than a day.