Caught and Banded : An Analysis of Recapture Frequencies of the Black-Capped Chickadee

Abstract

Black-capped chickadees (BCCH) are year-round resident songbirds in North America and are commonly found at bird feeders. They are known for being comfortable around people and for their developed spatial memory. These factors may play an important role in the number of times a BCCH can be captured and handled by humans. This research project utilizes bird banding data collected by Beaver Creek Nature Reserve (2007-2016), Fall Creek, WI, to answer the following questions: 1.) Does the frequency of recapture change with each successive capture? 2.) Does the time interval between successive captures change?