U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Date of this Version
2006
Abstract
From 2 August through 1 October 1993 we banded and leg flagged 362 house sparrows (126 adults, 236 juveniles) captured in a decoy trap at an experimental grain station on the campus of North Dakota State University, Fargo (NDSU). We documented sightings of leg-flagged birds between 3 August 1993 and 14 December 1994. Over this period, 56 (66%) of the total 76 observations of leg-flagged birds were on the NDSU campus; 21 (28%) of the 76 observations occurred between March and December 1994, a minimum of 5 months after the leg flags were attached and following the 1993-1994 winter. Of the 21 observations in 1994, 16 (76%) occurred on campus. The farthest sighting of a leg-flagged bird was 6.5 km (4 mi.) from the trap site. The data indicated that we captured and marked a localized population. A concerted effort based on trapping could reduce house sparrow damage on the small, experimental plots of cereal grains and sunflower grown at the station.
Comments
Published in PRAIRIE INVADERS: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 20TH NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE CONFERENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY, July 23–26, 2006, edited by Joseph T. Springer and Elaine C. Springer. Kearney, Nebraska : University of Nebraska at Kearney, 2006. Pages 69-72.