Any way to find out about "tracked" birds?

Factual Questions
1

My dog caught a bird today and I was able to get it away from her before she killed it.

When I was taking it to the woods I noticed it had a teal tag around its ankle. It said:

AU 2003
DCH
5038

I think 5038 were the 4 numbers.

It was a pigeon I believe. At least it had pigeon coloring and size.

I googled to try to find some info but I got nil. Any way to find out who’s tracking this bird and why? Or might it be a matter of it being one of a thousand birds being tracked and it’s no big deal?

2

Bird banding in the U.S. is coordinated by the Bird Banding Laboratory of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Check out their website for info on bands and how to report a band recovery.

However, if the bird you found is a domestic pigeon, the bands may be just those of its owner, and not ones put on by a scientific researcher. In this case, you might have to contact a local pigeon fancier/racer to trace the band. Check out the American Racing Pigeon Union for more info.

3

Thanks Colibri. Turns out he’s a Racing Pigeon and the band was from the American Racing Pigeon Union.

I wasn’t able to find the racing club he belongs to on their website, but I contacted the executive director of the union and hopefully she can help.

If nothing else, we’ll get to nurse the bird back to health. neat :slight_smile: