We’re in the midst of some very changeable weather: clear and cool yesterday; thunderstorms during the night; light northerly winds, overcast and cool this morning; wind switching to the south and blowing hard by mid-morning with the temperature spiking to the 20’s ; ominous cloud blowing in this afternoon with a forecast of rain and a plunge in temperature. It’s a tough time to be a migrant bird!

But they’re on the move and it would take a lot to stop them now that they’ve started. It didn’t seem particularly busy this morning but by the time we took the nets down we had banded 50 and handled 22 retraps. But the thing that was most noticeable was the diversity: we encountered 60 species today, from Common Loons to Pine Warblers, eagles to redpolls. A real hodge-podge. Firsts for the year were Vesper Sparrow, Horned Lark, Caspian Tern, and House Wren.

Another interesting thing about the morning was that it was the first time in a LONG time that there wasn’t a woman involved in the operation, just David Brewer, Matt Timpf and myself. The conversations, hell, even the whole atmosphere of the place had a different feel. I’m not saying it’s a good thing; I’m not saying it’s a bad thing….just different. You could burp and scratch with impunity.

Banded 50:2 Mourning Doves
1 Tree Swallow
3 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Winter Wren
8 Golden-crowned Kinglets
9 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 American Robins
1 European Starling
1 American Tree Sparrow
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Field Sparrow
4 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
5 Dark-eyed Juncos
4 Brown-headed Cowbirds
4 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 22:
2 Black-capped Chickadees
2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 American Robin
5 American Tree Sparrows
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
3 Song Sparrows
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
2 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 60 spp.

Rick