Today, as an intern with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, she is back to do just that and help spread the word about the benefits and purpose of bird banding in Pennsylvania.

“It’s always nice to meet the owners of a farm or a property and explain to them what we do and things like that,” Carlini, an information and education intern with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said. “Especially with geese.”

Oh yes, Carlini loves to band geese. They may be aggressive birds that many people try to avoid on lakes or rivers, but for Carlini, they are one of his favorites.

Carlini and the Pennsylvania Game Commission have been banding birds throughout Pennsylvania in early summer, from barn owls to kestrels to geese. Each bird presents its own challenges and difficulties, but it’s all meant to help researchers and the game commission gain knowledge that can be used.

PROVIDED PHOTO A young barn owl is held in preparation for receiving a band on its leg in this photo taken by Pennsylvania Game Commission intern Maddie Carlini.

“The Pennsylvania Game Commission is a conservation organization, so we don’t do anything that would harm these animals. Everything we do is for scientific purposes and for the people in the community. If you were to talk to people about it, you’d probably say it’s for the safety of the birds and their own good, as well as the good of the people.” Carlini said. “We want to control the populations and if there are fewer, let them thrive. If there are more, maybe more hunting licenses and things like that.”

What about non-hunted animals like owls?

“It is good to know the population when your native species is concerned” Carlini spoke about barn owls and raptor species such as kestrels. “Other non-native species don’t settle in areas where they are really needed. This is the case with barn owls that take care of pests in farmers’ fields.”

When Carlini and the game commission were banding owls, a large group of people would come along and be shown what was happening. Carlini would go into the rafters to take the owls out of their nest boxes and put them in small bags to try to calm them down.

“My job was to write down the weights and measurements of these animals, to get them little rings. We put them in little tubes to calm them down a little more and they usually screamed very loudly.” Carlini said laughing.

PHOTO PROVIDED In this photo by Pennsylvania Game Commission intern Maddie Carlini, a barn owl wears a band on its leg. The Pennsylvania Game Commission bands many birds to gain valuable information, such as their migratory destinations and breeding habits.

Blood samples are also taken and the owls are weighed. Carlini stressed that the blood samples are given to the labs so they know which birds were taken.

The kestrels were the next birds to be banded along with Carlini, a bird she says is very quick and easy to do. Like the barn owls, they are both weighed and banded, then quickly returned to their nests.

“We don’t want to disturb them or their mother anymore,” Carlini said.

Anyone who has ever encountered a geese knows they can be aggressive and chase people. They can also hiss, a phenomenon Carlini and members of the Game Commission are familiar with when they try to band them.

For geese, a large number of them are ringed to collect data.

PROVIDED PHOTO A goose is held while the Pennsylvania Game Commission places a band on its leg in this photo by Pennsylvania Game Commission intern Maddie Carlini. The Pennsylvania Game Commission bands many birds — geese, barn owls and others — to gain valuable information such as their migratory destinations and breeding habits.

“Usually our north-central region has the most, based on migration patterns, and we have to compensate other regions when we go out to get them,” Carlini said.

When trying to round up the geese for banding, the Game Commission and Carlini go out in kayaks on the river or lake to get the geese where they are needed, while other people are on the shore, very quiet, coaxing the geese into large fenced areas.

“We put them all inside the fence and tiptoe around them so they can’t escape.” Carlini said. “They are very powerful and their wings are very strong to allow them to fly long distances.”

Unlike owls or kestrels, geese are observed to determine whether they are juveniles or adults and also to see what their sex is. Juveniles are placed in a separate enclosure so that they do not run away without an adult. Both adults and juveniles are marked with their sex before being ringed by gamekeepers.

“They’re all very simple and very easy, and we just let them go back into the water or wherever they came from, and then we move them to another location,” Carlini said.

This year, the Game Commission banded about 300 geese, and that’s when they can no longer fly. There’s a two-week window when geese can no longer fly because their flight feathers are growing back, and that’s when the Game Commission aims to band them.

Carlini has been involved in group trips and adventures for some time now, thanks to her father, who is a regional manager, and now her, who is an intern. And she notes that there are many enjoyable moments in the process.

“Holding geese, going out with your parents and learning how to care for these animals. They’re not just animals to look at.” Carlini said. “They should also be harvested for conservation purposes, so it’s nice to know that you’re also doing your part to help these animals in your community.”

The data collected can also produce interesting findings for those who consult it.

“Knowing that they are being tracked and monitored is an exciting thing for the scientific process,” Carlini said. “Barn owls don’t usually fly very far, but knowing that you are doing something for them and for farmers is very rewarding.”