Take a glimpse of spring during the February 8 Grinnell Regional Medical Center Senior Education Program with Bob and Connie Van Ersvelde. They will present a slide show of birds and tools of bird banding to participants.
More than 500 birds are banded each year. This allows the program to monitor birds and their migratory patterns. Van Ersvelde says he has recapture 75 to 80 birds, with most being two to four years old. He says a highlight of the couple’s work has been to recapture one of the top 20 oldest catbirds known in the world. It migrates to South America and back.
Bob Van Ersvelde has been bird banding since 1996 and earned his license six years ago. The Van Ersveldes are involved in a national research program to monitor birds. They are one of only two locations in Iowa. Van Ersvelde’s SEED program will show birds in the state, explain breeding and feeding patterns in Iowa, and share tips for people to enjoy bird watching and feeding.
This program is free and open to the public. It will be held at 10 a.m. in the Drake Community Library, with refreshments beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Parking is available at the Drake Community Library, along Park Street, on Fifth Avenue, and in the First Presbyterian Church parking lot. Seniors needing transportation may call GRMC Communications and Development at 641-236-2593 by the Thursday before the program.
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