Encounter Data Codes and Descriptions
These codes appear in the encounter records for data retrievals as well as the Report to the Banders.
A Report to Bander is emailed to the bander when there is an encounter report for a bird they banded. Two files are sent, a .pdf file that includes basic encounter information and a .tab file that contains all information from the finder in a form that can be imported into various computer programs.
Most data files provided by the BBL will have column titles matching the FIELD column below.
For those fields that are populated by codes, links are provided to the pages with the code translations.
| FIELD(B=BANDING, E=ENCOUNTER) | Description (if necessary) | |
|---|---|---|
| B_AGE_CODE | ||
| B_REGION | 2-digit "Region" code of banding (not including flyway) | |
| B_BAND_NUM | The federal (metallic) band number | |
| B_BAND_SIZE_CODE | ||
| B_BAND_STATUS_CODE | ||
| B_BAND_TYPE_CODE | ||
| B_BIRD_STATUS | ||
| B_COMMENTS | Comments added to the banding record by the BBL | |
| B_COORD_PRECISION | Level of precision of coordinates given for banding location -- 10' block, 1' block or exact | |
| B_DIRECTION_CODE | (Quarter of the Earth) Only needed with B LAT and B LON | |
| B_EXTRA_INFO_CODE | ||
| B_FLYWAY_CODE | ||
| B_HOW_AGED_CODE | ||
| B_HOW_SEXED_CODE | ||
| B_LAT_10_MIN_BLK | For banding location: BBL-style 10' block designation (latitude) | |
| B_LAT_DECIMAL_DEGREES | For banding location: Decimal degrees (latitude). Note the coordinate precision. | |
| B_LON_10_MIN_BLK | For banding location: BBL-style 10' block designation (longitude) | |
| B_LON_DECIMAL_DEGREES | For banding location: Decimal degrees (longitude). Note the coordinate precision. | |
| B_AUX_MARKER | A coded description of any auxiliary markers | |
| B_PERMIT_NUM | Permit number of bander | |
| B_REMARKS | Additional remarks from bander | |
| B_REWARD_BAND_NUM | The reward band number (if present) | |
| B_SEX_CODE | ||
| B_SPECIES_ID | "AOU" or "SPECIES" number of bird | |
| BANDING_DATE (may be inexact date) |
Full banding date (MM/DD/YYYY), may be inexact date (records with month > 12 or day > 31) | |
| BANDING_DAY (may be inexact day) |
Day of month banded, may be inexact day (records with day > 31) | |
| BANDING_MONTH (may be inexact month) |
Month of year banded, may be inexact month (records with month > 12) | |
| BANDING_YEAR (may be inexact year) |
Year bird was banded, may be inexact year (records with year = 0000) | |
| B_MARKER_LONG_DESC | Full translated auxilliary marker information | |
| B_SPECIES_NAME |
|
|
| E_REGION | 2-digit "Region" code of encounter (not including flyway) | |
| E_CERTIFICATE_FLAG | Did finder request a certificate? | |
| E_CERTIFICATE_LANGUAGE | Language of certificate to be issued to finder | |
| E_COMMENTS | Comments added to the encounter record by the BBL | |
| E_COORD_PRECISION | Level of precision of coordinates given for encounter location -- 10' block, 1' block or exact | |
| E_COUNTRY_CODE | Country code for country reported ("FIPS" code) | |
| E_COUNTY_CODE | County code for county of town/place reported ("FIPS" code) | |
| E_CREATE_DATE | Full date (MM/DD/YY) encounter record was created in BBL | |
| E_CREATE_MONTH | Month of year encounter record was created in BBL | |
| E_CREATE_YEAR | Year encounter record was created in the BBL | |
| E_DIRECTION_CODE | (Quarter of the Earth) Only needed with B LAT and B LON | |
| E_DIRECTION1 | Direction of encounter location from town | |
| E_DIRECTION2 | Second direction of encounter location from town (when 2 cardinal directions are used) | |
| E_ENC_COUNTY_ORIGINAL | County code for county in which bird/band was encounterd (as reported by finder) | |
| E_FLYWAY_CODE | ||
| E_HOW_OBTAINED_CODE | Numeric code for how bird/band was obtained | |
| E_HOW_OBTAINED_DESC | Further description of how bird/band was obtained | |
| E_LAT_10_MIN_BLK | For encounter location: BBL-style 10' block designation (latitude) | |
| E_LAT_DECIMAL_DEGREES | For encounter location: Decimal degrees (latitude). Note the coordinate precision. | |
| E_LOCATION_DESCRIPTION | Description of location reported by finder | |
| E_LON_10_MIN_BLK | For encounter location: BBL-style 10' block designation (longitude) | |
| E_LON_DECIMAL_DEGREES | For encounter location: Decimal degrees (longitude). Note the coordinate precision. | |
| E_MARKER_CODE_COLOR_ID | Numeric code describing color of code on auxiliary marker as reported by finder | |
| E_MARKER_COLOR_ID | Numeric code describing color of auxiliary marker as reported by finder | |
| E_MARKER_DESC | Actual code on auxiliary marker as reported by finder | |
| E_MARKER_REF_ID | Internal identification number given to auxiliary marker only reports | |
| E_AUX_MARKER | Description of auxiliary marker as reported by finder | |
| E_AUX_MARKER_CODE | Numeric code describing type of auxiliary marker as reported by finder | |
| E_MILES1 | Mileage from encounter location town | |
| E_MILES2 | Second mileage from encounter location town | |
| E_PLACE_NAME | Place reported by finder | |
| E_PRESENT_CONDITION_CODE | Present condition of the bird as reported by finder | |
| E_REMARKS | Additional remarks by the finder | |
| E_SPECIES_NAME | Species as reported by finder | |
| E_STATE_CODE | "FIPS" state code of encounter | |
| E_WHO_OBTAINED_CODE | Who obtained the bird/band | |
| E_WHY_REPORTED_CODE | Reporting method | |
| ENCOUNTER_DATE (may be inexact date) |
Full encounter date (MM/DD/YYYY), may be inexact date (records with month > 12 or day > 31) | |
| ENCOUNTER_DAY (may be inexact day) |
Day of month encountered, may be inexact day (records with day > 31) | |
| ENCOUNTER_MONTH (may be inexact month) |
Month of year encountered, may be inexact month (records with month > 12) | |
| ENCOUNTER_YEAR (may be inexact year) |
Year encountered, may be inexact year (records with year = 9999) | |
| E_MARKER_LONG_DESC |
|
|
| HSS | Hunting Season Survived. Approximate age of the bird at the time it was encountered | |
| MIN AGE AT ENC | Minimum age at encounter based on original banding. The decimal value translates to years and months (e.g. 12.25 = 12 years 3 months) | |
| ORIGINAL_BAND | Original band number if there was multiple bands applied to the bird | |
| Other Bands | Additional or replaced band(s) | |
| BEARING | The compass direction from the original banding location to the encounter location. Caution, this is not to be interpreted as a direct movement. | |
| DISTANCE | The straight-line distance in miles between the original banding location and the encounter location. Caution, this is not to be interpreted as the only distance traveled by the bird. | |
| SAME_10_MIN_BLOCK | Indicates if the encounter was in the same 10-minute block of latitude and longitude (Y) or not (N) of the original banding. Note encounters within the same 10-minute block may have actually moved up to 10 miles. Also, records with a "N" in this field may not have actually moved if the DISTANCE field is less than 15 miles due to possible mis-interpretations of 10-minute blocks. | |
| WAS STATUS CHANGED | Indicates if, during any subsequent re-encounter of the bird, any marker was added or procedure performed that would result in a status and additional information code that differed from that of the original banding. This is generally discouraged because it is difficult to track, but is done often out of necessity. The field will contain Y if the status was changed or N if it was not. | |
| REC_SOURCE | Record source. Indicates if record is in the encounter database, encounter hold file, or recapture table. | |
| ENC_ERROR | Indicates for which filters a record was flagged. Click here for more details. |