Banding outside…..returning to our roots.
Looking back, I can only describe it as an “odd” day. We didn’t band a lot of birds, so that wasn’t very exciting. But we did encounter 2 very uncommon birds, and that was. Early in the morning, just as we were finishing our first net round, we spotted a Pileated Woodpecker flying north just above the trees along in front of the Mansion. Years ago I never saw this bird here (although I knew there had to be some around because I’d find their big rectangular holes in trees in the depths of the slough forest). But more recently, in fact, ever since Dorothy Smith pointed one out a couple of years ago, we have seen them on a few occasions each year…but with increasing regularity. This is a good sign.
But the second bird was very exciting. We could hear it buzzing in the Butterfly Meadow and when we went to check it out….yes, indeed! A Clay-coloured Sparrow! At one point Nancy played the call on her iPod and it flew right toward her veering off at the last moment. That’s only the third record of its presence in the banding area.
Introducing Giuliana (and a Blackpoll Warbler) – starting her quest for a banding subpermit.
It was such a nice day early on that we decided to take all the banding equipment outside. It’s always easier to assess molt limits in good outdoor light. Although it would work well for casual banding demonstrations I think it became quite clear that it just wouldn’t do for a large class of kids (which, fortunately, we didn’t have today) – much better to have them in 2 smaller groups indoors, as we’ve been doing. But banding outside reminded me of the banding station’s “roots” – in the Fall of ’95 I started banding up in the vicinity of Net #7. There were only 4 or so net lanes and I banded out of a fishing tackle box while sitting on a little Remington folding hunting stool under a big hickory. There were NO visitors then; in fact, I had the park completely to my self…the very definition of peace and quiet. How things have changed! In some ways for the better but every now and again I pine for the p & q.
Banded 31:
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
2 Traill’s Flycatchers
1 House Wren
1 American Robin
8 Gray Catbirds
1 Warbling Vireo
5 Yellow Warblers
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Ovenbird
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
2 Baltimore Orioles
4 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 61 spp.
Rick