Believe it or not, the sky was clear when I arrived shortly before 6:30. But a cloud bank low in the SW very quickly moved in and within an hour it was completely overcast. And about an hour after that it began to rain (in fact, I was only 15 minutes into doing the census when it started). We had opened all the nets but had to close them as the cold, wet conditions would have been dangerous for any birds caught in them. Even so we managed to catch 28 birds – 15 of them new, including 5 Golden-crowned Kinglets.

There were a couple of interesting sightings: a flock of 5 Sandhill Cranes flew over. These didn’t look like they were migrating but, rather, looking for a place to set down and feed. The second was a large brush wolf or, more likely, a ‘coydog’. This was on the Fox Den Trail about 50 m in from the junction with the Carolinian Trail. It definitely was a wolf/coyote (e.g., large bushy tail) but was very pale coloured and had some of the features of a German Shepherd. The striking thing was its size – it was large; much larger than western coyotes but in the same ballpark as coyotes I’ve seen in this area. [Eastern coyotes are now thought to have interbred with timber wolves resulting in their larger size.] When it became aware of my presence it bolted off along the trail heading south.

Banded 15:
5 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 American Robin
2 American Tree Sparrows
5 Song Sparrows
1 Dark-eyed Junco
1 American Goldfinch

Retrapped 13:
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Black-capped Chickadees
3 Golden-crowned Kinglets
2 American Tree Sparrows
1 Song Sparrow
1 Dark-eyed Junco
1 House Finch
2 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 35 spp.
Rick