PHOTO GALLERY: Second-graders take field trip to Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary

Dana Ripper, director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory, bands a White-breasted Nuthatch while second-graders from Russell Boulevard Elementary School watch Thursday at the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary. Bird bands feature unique serial numbers, and researchers use them to track birds as they migrate and from season to season.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Ethan Duke, assistant director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory, and Lee Expressive Arts Elementary School second-graders turn to see if Duke’s colleague, Dana Ripper, has returned with a bird from the capture nets. The students took a field trip to the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Dana Ripper, director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory, shows Lee Expressive Arts Elementary School second-graders how the bird-capture nets safely capture birds Thursday at the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary.   |  Benjamin Hoste

A tackle box is repurposed by the Missouri River Bird Observatory to hold various-sized bird bands and the necessary tools to affix them to captured birds. Each band has a unique serial number, and researchers are required to first obtain a license from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies before they can capture, band and release birds.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Dana Ripper, director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory, places a male Northern cardinal into a small plastic tube to weigh it while second-graders from Russell Boulevard Elementary School watch. The Northern cardinal was captured with a specially designed net and banded, measured and weighed before being released.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Dana Ripper, director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory, holds a White-breasted Nuthatch and displays it to second-graders.   |  Benjamin Hoste