I got back from the Atlantic about a week ago…just as Spring arrived. Well….tried to arrive since we haven’t enjoyed much warmth. In fact, two days ago a snow squall covered the skein of ice on the pond with white. It melted fairly quickly but was a warning not to put away that toque and mitts. The good thing about the cold weather is that it slowed the swan migration so that I was able to see some migrating flocks when I got back.
But with the approach of April 1st it is time to get ready to band. That means putting up nets and making sure the net lanes are clear. An intrepid crew arrived yesterday to get things started. We were able to put up 6 nets – the nets that are most likely to be productive early in the season: numbers 1 – 6. (I’ve given in to group persuasion/pressure and have numbered them sequentially! So no more bitching…please.) As well as nets, an important task was to get the outhouse back in place and operational. The recent flooding, though not quite as bad as last year, caused the building to twist and tip over. Fortunately, Dave and Elaine, outhouse specialists (they did the same job last year), managed to fix things up quickly.
While were were working I set out a ground trap close to net 1 and managed to catch the first birds of the season: 2 American Tree Sparrows (one a retrap from the Fall) and 2 Song Sparrows. But it wasn’t all hard work. In fact, we had a very pleasant morning interspersing bouts of net raising with bouts of picnic table conversation while enjoying Kim’s wonderful home-made oatmeal/raisin cookies.
I went out this morning to make sure no deer had stumbled into the nets during the night (sometimes it takes them awhile to learn that there’s new obstacles in the way) and to tighten guy lines. I opened them for a brief while and managed to band another 5: Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, and a lovely male Northern Cardinal.
We still have another 4 nets to go. One we likely can’t put up until the water goes down a bit. But they’re not as pressing as the 6 we did. We also will have to make a decision on whether to net the meadow…..
Rick