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Story: Bird migration

Netting birds

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Netting birds

These cannon nets are laid out on the beach at Kaipara Harbour, ready to fire out over a group of shorebirds. To discover where migratory birds go, ornithologists place colour-coded or numbered bands or rings on the netted birds’ legs. These may be reported later by people who scan flocks at feeding sites along the route. At their final destination – northern hemisphere breeding sites – the birds are more difficult to find as their nests are scattered across huge areas.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10047407

by Dick Veitch

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How to cite this page

Christina Troup, Bird migration – The phenomenon of migration, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7209/netting-birds (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Christina Troup, published 2 March 2009.