HRBT Banded Seabird Observation

Throughout the past three years, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and the Virginia Tech Shorebird Program have banded over 5,000 birds associated with the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel seabird colony in an effort to evaluate dispersal of these birds in years subsequent to the colony’s displacement from South Island. We are asking birders to assist us with these resighting efforts for the following banded species: Royal Terns, Gull-billed Terns, Common Terns, Laughing Gulls, Sandwich Terns, and Black Skimmers.

Be on the lookout for the above species, and, if a banded bird is seen, we are asking that the information be reported to us via the online submission form below. We only want reports of birds with white PFR bands (see photo for an example) to be reported. The bands can have any number 0–9 and any of the following letters: A C E H J K L M N P T U V X Y. While we do accept banding reports without a photo for verification, it is often helpful and easier to read the band via a photo.

Date of Observation*
MM slash DD slash YYYY
Observer Full Name*
Full Name
Observer Email Address*
Note: you will only be contacted if we have a question about your submission.
Latitude
Please enter in decimal degrees format
Longitude
Please enter in decimal degrees format
Specific Location Information*
Please provide details related to the exact location where the bird was seen
Species*
Band Code*
Only report codes from birds with white PFR bands
Notes
Please provide notes on the size and species composition of the flock which the banded bird was seen in. Also, if you have any additional comments please provide those here.
Observation Type*
Photo
File must be 1 MB or less. The following formats are accepted: JPG, GIF, and PNG.
Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, Max. file size: 1 MB.