The Yakima Area Arboretum Bird Banding Project is a citizen science project designed to understand migratory usage and winter return rates of Golden-crowned Sparrows and other birds to the Yakima River riparian habitat corridor at the Yakima Area Arboretum.

This project was started during the fall of 2018 and is ongoing. The main goal of the project is to color-mark Golden-crowned Sparrows at a public bird feeding/viewing area at the Yakima Area Arboretum (YAA), located within the Yakima River riparian corridor adjacent to the Yakima Greenway. The bird feeding/viewing area (BFVA) is supported by the Yakima Valley Audubon Society (YVAS) and YAA and is comprised of a large bird feeding area with a blind containing drop down viewing ports for people to observe the birds at very close range. The BFVA operates from September – April. Each Golden-crowned Sparrow is banded with a unique combination of 2 colored plastic leg bands and one metal numbered band, so that each bird can be identified without recapturing them. All other birds are banded with just a metal numbered band. We installed a sign at the BFVA explaining the project, photos of the study species, and contact information for where and how to report color-marked birds. Through this project, we hope to engage the public in citizen science by encouraging them to look for and report color-banded sparrows returning to the feeding area during migration and throughout the winter. The overall goal of this project is to educate people about the habitat needs of migrating and wintering birds, as well as the importance of migratory habitat corridors through urban landscapes. This project is overseen by a wildlife biologist operating under master station banding permit #22451. As of February 2024, 718 birds of 17 species have been banded, including 86 Golden-crowned Sparrows.