April 4th-6th – Catching Up

I must admit: I have given into sloth for the past couple of days. Probably a case of adjustment to the regimen of early mornings mixed with lousy weather.

The 4th started with a cold, intermittent drizzle which resulted in us opening only a few nets – which we promptly closed when it turned to rain at around 10:30.

The 5th started with high winds through the night and light snow flurries. The cold wind precluded the opening of any nets so we just used ground traps and closed up shop when we finished the census. Despite the cold, windy conditions, Tree Swallows plied the river looking for emerging insects (midges?). These are hardy little birds!

Today it was cold early (-4) with a heavy frost which made opening difficult…but we did it. The blue skies and bright sunshine livened things up and you could see that birds were once again on the move. We encountered 3 new species for the year: Double-crested Cormorants, Green-winged Teal, and Belted Kingfisher.
Another first for the year: I heard a Chorus Frog singing from the slough below Net 2 in the early evening.

We also had the first Fern Hillians of the year out helping as well.

April 4th; Banded 15:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
7 Dark-eyed Juncos
6 American Goldfinches (1 had an active case of conjuctivitis and 1 had what looked like a recovered case of it.)

April 5th; Banded 2:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Dark-eyed Junco

April 6th; Banded 18:
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 American Robin
2 Song Sparrows
7 Dark-eyed Juncos
7 American Goldfinches

Rick

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