Gosh Mara,

It depended on what we banded them for.  Some birds we weren't worried about seeing again this year so we didn't look very hard for them.  Others we watched very carefully, and probably saw 80-90% of them again.  We couldn't catch that many again, but we did see them.  They go back to their nesting sites and most often, that is where we caught them.  Just like your parents, they wanted to take care of their children!

Mrs. P-D

Mary Anne Pell…

Often times we did resight them.  The ones with only leg bands were not looked at closely, however.  But the birds that had their chests painted were always watched and we tried to recapture them.  Our success rate was often about 30%.  That number does not seem very high, but that was really about the best we did. 
Thanks for asking.
 
Mary Anne