In 1997 Adrian Boyle started a project banding birds to look at bird movements and populations at Lake McIntyre. In May 1998 a Brown Thornbill aged 1+
years was banded. The same bird was recaptured in March 2013, making it nearly 16 years old! The oldest known Thornbill at that time was 17.5 years
old.

Between Early 2016 and December 2017, there were several reports of a Masked Lapwing at Lake McIntyre with a metal band on its leg. On the 18th December
2017 Adrian visited the lake and managed to photograph the Lapwing, revealing the full number on the band. It turned out that Adrian had banded the
bird as a small chick on the 8th November 1998. This meant the bird was 19 years old, making it the oldest known Masked Lapwing in Australia. When
Adrian photographed this bird, it was with 2 recently fledged chicks.

It just goes to show how, in many ways, banding can help in our knowledge of our feathered friends.

(Article provided by Sheila Boyle, Masked Lapwing photo courtesy of Adrian Boyle)