We didn’t get a BIG influx of birds (like we’re always hoping for) but there were a number of little gems that made the day really worthwhile. It started early: opening nets in the quiet of the predawn under the light from an almost full moon I heard the first American Woodcock of the year and numerous White-throated Sparrows calling or chipping along the margins.
And then on census, in front of the Mansion, I saw the first Chimney Swift of the year – a real long-distance migrant. But t didn’t end there. Close into shore along the River we came upon 3 Ruddy Ducks! A female with 2 males. This is a duck of open bodies of water, not rivers and certainly not around Ruthven. So…a real treat.
Banded 26:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Northern Flicker
1 House Wren
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Hermit Thrushes
2 American Robins
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Chipping Sparrow
2 Field Sparrows
5 White-throated Sparrows
5 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 53 spp.
Photo Gallery:
Rick
And from Fern Hill Burlington:
We knew right from the start of the day it would be a great day for migration, and really the highlight of the day was spotting new species passing through. We started the day off with a bang watching an exciting chase that included a Cooper’s Hawk, and American Crow, and a chorus of Icteridae all in hot pursuit of two Common Ravens. We counted a total of 47 species (today, including some great seasonal firsts including: Belted Kingfisher, Barn Swallows, Western Palm Warbler, and a Northern Harrier.
We handled 24 birds-14 banded of 7 species including:
1 MODO
1 RCKI
1 AMRO
1 BRTH (our first banded of the season)
3 RWBL
1 BHCO
6 AMGO
The Thrasher was a nice surprise-it flew into the net just as we were teaching our students to identify it’s unique repetitive call heard from the shrubs. Two interesting recaptures were a White Breasted Nuthatch originally banded in 2013 as a SY by Joanne Fleet, and an American Goldfinch banded by Nancy in September 2015.
Katherine