When I left the house this morning and looked up….NO clouds, just Orion on the hunt almost directly above me. With that you know that Fall must be here. The NE wind continued to blow through the night and, again, birds were busy along the edges and in the prairie grass meadow. The only trouble with this wind: it fills the N – S running nets with leaves, so after the first net round you pretty well have to close them. Even so, we banded 69 more birds, mostly sparrows.

I thought the sapsucker was a nice sighting (and the first Winter Wren and male Eastern Bluebird), but the bird that took the “bird of the day” was a first for the Farm: a Wilson’s Snipe! It flew up from the path that leads between nets 3 & 1. It was so fast that I just had time to ID it – the thought of getting photo would have been a dream.

Banded 69:
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Black-capped Chickadee
3 Golden-crowned Kinglets
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Winter Wren

1 Eastern Bluebird

1 Savannah Sparrow
13 White-throated Sparrows
9 Song Sparrows
5 Lincoln’s Sparrows
19 Swamp Sparrows
5 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Indigo Buntings
ET’s: 33 spp.
Rick

At last….the dam seems to have burst. The NE winds blew Summer away and pushed bunches of migrants south in doing so. It’s still fairly mild (20+ C.) during the afternoon but cooling somewhat over night. We really noticed the change for the first time on Friday (the 27th): sparrows were plentiful and bouncing back and forth between the prairie meadow and the wetland edge. There were a few warblers but they were staying high. The skies on the 27th started off clear but cloud began to move in later and you could sense change in the wind. You can have your sunny, clear, rain-free days. When I’m banding I want “unsettled” conditions!! Hurricane Helene moving up from the Gulf is having an impact.

Rain moved in Friday night but had stopped by morning. The NE wind continued to blow – which is a good direction for us as the nets are relatively protected from billowing when it’s from NE. Interestingly, my opening comment for the morning was that the “edges are quiet”. Ha! That didn’t last long. As soon as it became light there was LOTS of activity – especially sparrows. We were run off our feet and ended up banding 101 birds! Thanks goodness I had a couple of capable assistants in Sam and Joyce.

This morning, the conditions were similar: NE winds and overcast. Interestingly, the horde of White-throated Sparrows that we encountered yesterday seemed to have moved on, only to be replaced by Swamp Sparrows. (I wonder how far south those White-throats got..?)

So it’s been a busy but very productive weekend. Thank goodness for unsettled weather!
September 27th; Banded 52:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

1 Marsh Wren
1 Dark-eyed Junco

6 White-throated Sparrows
20 Song Sparrows
3 Lincoln’s Sparrows
13 Swamp Sparrows
1 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Common Yellowthroats
2 Myrtle Warblers
1 Indigo Bunting
ET’s: 37 spp.

September 28th; Banded 101:
3 Eastern Phoebes

1 Marsh Wren
1 Hermit Thrush
1 American Goldfinch
1 Dark-eyed Junco
31 White-throated Sparrows
6 Song Sparrows
4 Lincoln’s Sparrows
11 Swamp Sparrows
1 Savannah Sparrow
13 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Western Palm Warbler
21 Myrtle Warblers
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Indigo Buntings

ET’s: 45 spp.

September 29th; Banded 57:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Red-eyed Vireo
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 House Wren
2 Eastern White-crowned Sparrows
2 White-throated Sparrows
12 Song Sparrows
3 Lincoln’s Sparrows
19 Swamp Sparrows
1 Common Yellowthroat
7 Western Palm Warblers
2 Myrtle Warblers
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Indigo Bunting
ET’s: 35 spp.
Rick

Summer conditions continued through the last two days with temperatures in the mid- to high-20s by the early afternoon. Each morning has been relatively cool and the resulting fog not only waters the plants (the trees drip until 9 or 10) but coats the innumerable spider webs that festoon the site. A formidable gauntlet for the small insects.


There has been a slow but steady flow of birds through the site:
September 19th; Banded 24:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Marsh Wren
1 Swainson’s Thrush
5 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
3 Savannah Sparrows
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Parula

1 Magnolia Warbler
5 Indigo Buntings
ET’s: 38 spp.

September 20th; Banded 27:
2 Gray Catbirds
1 Swainson’s Thrush
9 White-throated Sparrows
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
4 Common Yellowthroats
10 Indigo Buntings
ET’s: 28 spp.
Rick

Another hot, muggy day; the only difference to those of the past week is that there were clouds, sometimes covering a much as 75% of the sky. I was hoping for a little rain some sort of hint that amelioration of this wave might be lessening….As the day progressed the cloud dissipated and the heat rose into the high 20’s.

But there was a discernible change: while Bobolinks were still present (a flock of 12 was taking advantage of the prairie grass seeds) some new migrants found their way into the nets: an early White-crowned Sparrow, Swainson’s Thrush, Western Palm Warbler, and Bay-breasted Warbler. I wonder what impact this prolonged heat has on them…?
Banded 15:
1 Least Flycatcher
2 House Wrens
1 Gray Catbird
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 White-crowned Sparrow
3 Song Sparrows
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Ovenbird
1 Common Yellowthroat

1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Western Palm Warbler

1 Northern Cardinal
ET’s: 35 spp.
Rick