September 3, 2010 - Big Bald Banding Station opened the fall migration season on September 1 with a nice assortment of passerines. A total of 24 birds of ten species were banded. Seven warbler species included American Redstart, Magnolia, Hooded, Black-throated Blue, Cape May, Tennessee, and Ovenbird. September 2 yielded similar results with an additional warbler species, Black-and-White. Three other passerine species included Slate-colored Junco, Eastern Towhee, and Blue-headed Vireo. We invite you to join us this season! Please view our calendar, and contact us if you plan to visit or volunteer.

August 23, 2010 - Greetings volunteers and visitors of Big Bald and Tessentee! Fall migration banding at Big Bald is just around the corner  - opening day is September 1. We will operate from sunrise to ~1pm daily throughout September and October, except during inclement weather. Volunteers of all skill levels are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities, such as recording data, extracting birds from nets, and banding. Those of you who prefer to just watch are also welcome! Please contact us ahead of time so we can schedule your visit and keep you informed of any changes.

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, we are co-hosting a Migration Celebration at Tessentee Bottomlands Preserve, along with Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research program. Participants will have the opportunity to help gather data about butterfly and bird migrations in the Little Tennessee River migration corridor. We hope you’ll come out and join us! For additional information, click here.

August 10, 2010 – Our last MAPS sample at Big Bald on July 31 ended with a surprise – a male Sharp-shinned Hawk was captured in one of our mist nests, the first Sharpie caught during our two seasons of MAPS. We also captured two new species for this season at BB – Least Flycatcher and Hooded Warbler. The foggy conditions did not hinder bird activity, and a total of 24 new birds were banded, with three recaptures. Numbers at Tessentee on August 1 were quite a bit lower, with only 12 new birds banded and three recaptures. We greatly appreciate the work of all volunteers who helped make the 2010 MAPS season at Big Bald and Tessentee a great success. Please keep an eye on our website as we will be posting updates on fall migration banding at Big Bald. We hope to see you soon!

July 27, 2010 - For the first time this season at

Tessentee MAPS, more volunteers than birds stopped by the banding table on July 21!  An enthusiastic group of thirty-one 4th to 6th graders from the Summer Ed-ventures program at Mountain View School kept busy transporting captured birds like White-eyed Vireo and Northern Cardinal to the banding table.  Other visitors included a nature group from Macon County led by Debby Boots with John and Cathy Sill. A beautiful hatch-year American Redstart was the only new species of the 23 new banded birds and 11 recaptures.  The helpful hands of many volunteers made the day a memorable one for all. 

MAPS at Big Bald was warm and productive as the second wave of Slate-colored Juncos topped the 34 new birds banded.  One surprise bird for the sample was the capture of an exotic, high-altitude Carolina Wren, the first in two years of MAPS at Big Bald!  Thanks to an enthusiastic band of volunteers that helped make the day safe and successful.

July 17, 2010 - We were finally able to complete
our MAPS sample at Big Bald after postponing it twice due to weather!  Our numbers today were quite different from 2 weeks ago.  We had a total of 14 new birds banded, in comparison to 50 on July 3. And we captured seven Slate-colored Juncos today, whereas 41 were captured during the previous sample. Four new species of birds were banded for the season - American Redstart, Ovenbird, Blue-headed Vireo, and Black-throated Blue Warbler.  As always, thanks to our dedicated group of volunteers!  See our MAPS page for a list of birds banded (scroll down to the box below the MAPS schedules).

July 12, 2010 - SCHEDULE CHANGE at Big Bald!  Due to inclement weather, we have postponed our next MAPS sample to Saturday, July 17, 2010. For additional information, please visit our MAPS page.  For directions and contact info, click here.

June 27, 2010 - The highest numbers of newly banded birds for the 2010 MAPS season were captured at Tessentee and Big Bald this weekend. Fledglings of a wide variety of species were abundant at both MAPS stations. Species highlights include Worm-eating and Black-throated Green Warblers at Big Bald, Barn Swallow at Tessentee, and Black-and-white Warbler at both stations. We greatly appreciate the enthusiastic and hard-working volunteers who assisted with our MAPS banding activities! For more information and banding results, please visit our MAPS page.

MAPS is a nationwide program that monitors the productivity and survivorship of breeding birds. See our MAPS page for the 2010 schedules and additional information.