Bird in the hand worth ... 1 banded in the wild

Ed Rykiel, a member of the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society, holds a white-crowned sparrow for Vista Elementary third-graders to touch during a Wednesday field trip to the Amon Basin Natural Preserve in south Richland.

Rykiel had just finished banding the tiny bird and was preparing to release it.

About 100 students from the Kennewick school participated in the event held by the Tapteal Greenway, a volunteer group that promotes conservation, education and recreation along the Lower Yakima River.

Watch a video at tri-cityherald.com/video

This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Bird in the hand worth ... 1 banded in the wild."