Bird enthusiasts can take bird identification to a new level Dec. 3 when the Catawba College Center for the Environment offers a bird banding demonstration on the Catawba Ecological Preserve.

Dr. Joe Poston, assistant professor of biology, will lead the demonstration with Erica Mitchell, a Catawba environmental student. Participants will assist Poston as he traps birds in the preserve, places numbered metal bands or rings on their legs, and releases them.

Poston notes that bird banding provides information on population size, life span and migration patterns of wild birds. In addition to bird banding, participants will learn about bird identification and feeding wild birds.

The group will meet in the lobby of the Catawba College Center for the Environment at 9 o’clock for the three-hour demonstration. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and reservations are required.

To reserve a space, email centerforenv@catawba.edu or call (704) 637-4294. For more information on the event, contact Poston at jpposton@catawba.edu, or (704) 637-4443.