We were thinking it was going to be a warmer day with the winds from the south and the morning temperatures above freezing. It wasn’t as warm as we hoped, and people were commenting on how cool it felt and that they should have dressed warmer. Even the bird activity and song was quieter and I missed hearing the song of the White-throated Sparrows at opening. Despite the lower number of birds being caught and banded it was still a great day to be at the banding lab. The sounds of laughter and young children running and playing filled the park. There were families visiting the banding lab, young children enjoying the banding, and then a colorful parade when all of us would walk the net lanes, checking for birds to bring back to the lab. Highlights included seeing the first Sandhill Cranes, and on census they saw the first Myrtle Warbler. Also, we saw a Common Loon and a group of four Tundra Swans flying north.

Each day during the banding operation, we process each bird by banding it or if it has a band, check the number and see if it’s one of ours or a foreign band. If it’s a Ruthven band, we call them retraps. A couple of retrap birds from today that were very interesting included a Song Sparrow banded on October 11, 2007 and an American Goldfinch banded on April 10, 2010.

Banded 16
1 Mourning Dove
1 Tree Swallow
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Hermit Thrush
1 American Robin
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Slate-colored Junco
1 Red-winged Blackbird
3 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 American Goldfinch

ET’s: 46

Nancy

Turkey Vultures enjoying the view from the mansion chimney.

Song Sparrow banded at Ruthven on October 11, 2007