‘Banded’ showcases Avian Research Education Institute bird banding station
Andy Rice partnered with David Russell to create the documentary
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Published
‘Banded’ showcases Avian Research Education Institute bird banding station
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Published
“Banded” is a 30-minute documentary showcasing Russell and the Avian Research Education Institute bird banding station, located in Hueston Woods State Park in Oxford, Ohio.
“Banded” is a 30-minute documentary showcasing Russell and the Avian Research Education Institute bird banding station, located in Hueston Woods State Park in Oxford, Ohio.
The Avian Research and Education Institute, AREI, was founded by Russell as a part of his research to study the movement, survival, and health of local and migratory bird populations. At the AREI banding station, they have 40 10-by-40-foot nets used to catch the birds in order to measure, photograph, and band birds with an aluminum band that is uniquely numbered for identification.
“It was just so clear that there was a film to be made about him and the work he was doing at this banding station. He has this kind of infectious energy and he has since he was five years old when he saw this really beautiful Cedar Waxwing and he knew from that moment on that he was going to be obsessed with birds,” Rice said about Russell.
The film highlights bird migration, banding techniques, and conservation efforts through unscripted scenes, drawing in the audience through natural moments to bring in emotion.
Through the use of nanotags, ornithologists such as Russell work together to track bird migrations as they move between South America and Canada.
Working with the Menard Family Center for Democracy, Rice has been able to provide fellowships to students interested in working in the film industry, such as “Banded” co-editors Deanna Hay and Grace Wilson.
Rice and Russell are currently working to develop this project into a feature film, collaborating with a banding station in the Chocó region of Ecuador to expand conservation lands and track the migration of the Swainson’s Thrush, which stops in Hueston Woods State Park during its annual spring migration from Ecuador to Alaska.
“Banded” and the 17-minute excerpt “Ecuador” screened at the Miami University Art Museum on Nov. 6. More information about Russell’s work is available on the Avian Research and Education Institute website.
**All work done by Russell and the Avian Research and Education Institute is conducted under federal permits to ensure ethical and standardized methods with bird safety as the utmost importance.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg.
