I think it’s fair to say that the bulk of the migration has gone through. I don’t expect to get a “big day” now until the Fall. (We never had a really big day this Spring, come to think of it.) The bright ASY male warblers have moved through; now the warblers we get are the younger birds, and not in very large numbers. I was struck today when I did the census at just how empty the woods seemed to be. Of course there’s still more to go but the volume is going down. Also going down is the daily species count, as you can see below.
May 18th; Banded 34:
2 Tree Swallows
1 House Wren
6 Gray Catbirds
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Cape May Warbler
6 Yellow Warblers
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
1 Magnolia Warbler
2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Western Palm Warbler
1 Canada Warbler
1 American Redstart
2 Common Yellowthroats
2 Lincoln’s Sparrows
1 Baltimore Oriole
5 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 56 spp.
May 19th; Banded 27:
1 Blue Jay
5 Gray Catbirds
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Tennessee Warbler
10 Yellow Warblers
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
1 American Redstart
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2 Song Sparrows
1 Orchard Oriole
ET’s: 56 spp.
Fern Hill – Burlington:
We had two busy days at Fern Hill – not so much because of birds (although the 18th was pretty good considering the number of nets – 6) but because of visitors. On the 18th we were visited by a large group of preschoolers. You know, those little people with close to zero attentions spans? And then today was Grandparents’ Day. Fortunately we had birds on both occasions to keep everyone happy…..
May 18th; Banded 28:
1 Traill;s Flycatcher
2 Tree Swallows
1 Blue Jay
1 American Robin
5 Gray Catbirds
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Tennessee Warbler
4 Yellow Warblers
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1 Song Sparrow
1 White-crowned Sparrow
2 Orchard Orioles
7 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 45 spp.
May 19th; Banded 9:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Baltimore Orioles
3 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 37 spp.
