One of the pleasures of getting to know your local wildlife is recognising individuals. I have enjoyed some pelican characters over the years. There was Steptoe, the crotchety loner who limped, Rosy a small sweet-natured female and Concord, a haughty male with a distinctive profile. Being able to recognise certain pelicans led to a deeper understanding of their habits but more importantly, additional knowledge about the species generally.

In order to conserve and protect wild creatures we need to understand them. The main way that science builds knowledge about wildlife is through surveillance. Tracking individuals by reliable methods such as tagging and banding is essential but can take some time to reap results.

The Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme (ABBBS) has the sole authority to distribute bands. Each one is stamped with a number and ABBBS’ address. Their database contains 50 years of details and, as recoveries are reported, the layers of knowledge build. Reports from the public are vital to research outcomes.

What goes around

In the early 1980s, Ford Kristo was a local science graduate keen to learn more about coastal birds of prey. He undertook a banding project designed to collect life history information on the sea eagles and kites of Bundjalung National Park. These days, many projects later, Ford is a ranger in the NSW Southern Highlands.

Lee Henderson of Goonellabah loves surf fishing. He has roamed the vast sweep of beaches south of Ballina for 30 years and is very familiar with the wildlife. One cold and rainy day last week, he decided to fish at Ten Mile Beach in Bundjalung National Park. Soon he noticed a bedraggled bird just sitting on the rocks.

“There was a howling sou’easterly and I knew it was strange for a brahminy kite to be just sitting there,” Lee said, “and then I saw the leg band.”

With plenty of practice capturing crook seabirds over the years, Lee wrapped the bird in a towel and called Australian Seabird Rescue. Once made warm and comfortable, the kite was transferred to bird of prey specialist, Wendy Lawrence of Alstonville. Sadly it died overnight but its band had a story to tell. ABBBS records reveal that it was banded as an adult 24 years and six months on the 12th of October 1983 – by Ford Kristo.

Brahminy kites develop adult plumage late in their second year so when Ford banded the bird, it was at least two years old. Wendy completed the story: “It was quite thin and shabby and, at more than 26 years of age, it very likely died of old age.”

According to previous ABBBS records, the longest period of time between banding and recovery of a brahminy kite was 12 years. Until now, there has been no proof that they lived any longer than that.

This week I had the pleasure of calling Ford Kristo with the amazing news.

“It’s not that often that you get to change the record books,” Ford quipped. “You’ve made my day!”