Ontario Bird Banding Association

is Canada’s oldest banding organization. OBBA is a non-profit, membership-driven and inclusive organization representing the interests of all amateur and ‘professional’ bird banders across Ontario, from organized bird observatories and academic institutions to educational and rehab banders.

OBBA’s AGM – Saturday March 2, 2024

Information for the AGM can be found in the Winter 2024 Newsletter.

Download Winter 2024 newsletter (pdf)
Links to archived newsletters and journals can be found on the Publications page

The Ontario Bird Banding Association provides a forum for communication among Ontario’s banders and those interested in the results of such work. It encourages the training of new banders, serves as a liaison among Ontario’s established bird observatories and sponsors special banding-related projects across Canada.

OBBA publishes a Newsletter three times a year that keeps members informed of current events and activities and includes short articles and reports. The Association’s annual journal, Ontario Bird Banding, includes reports from Ontario’s bird observatories and other articles on banding and recoveries. The Association holds an annual meeting featuring keynote speakers and reports from bird observatories throughout Ontario.

OBBA works closely with the North American Banding Council and the Canadian Bird Banding Office and with established bird observatories on the development and delivery of training materials and workshops, bander certification, and education and outreach activities.

OBBA’s Objectives are:

  • The study of ornithology, especially by means of banding and other marking techniques
  • The promotion of ornithological investigations and the publication of scientific and educational papers pertaining to those subjects, particularly within the Province of Ontario
  • Cooperation with organizations with similar objectives


Among its many accomplishments, in 1960 OBBA proudly founded Long Point Bird Observatory, North America’s first Bird Observatory, which has evolved into Birds Canada. OBBA has also assisted in the establishment of, and retains close ties with, several other bird observatories in Ontario.