And so it was, as we had our biggest banding day of the Spring so far. There had been some rain, heavy at times, during the night and when I arrived (Loretta had beat me to it), it was still overcast with a light fog and warm. Good banding conditions at Ruthven. The first couple of net rounds were very good both in terms of numbers caught and in their variety. The approach to each net was exciting as you just didn’t know what to expect – but you knew there would be something of interest. Things slowed down as the mornning progressed, but we were still catching right up until closing. We ended up banding 88 birds and handling 28 retraps for an overall total of 116 birds – really good Spring numbers for us. But the most intersting thing was the variety – we handled 32 species and encountered 73 species for the day, including 6 new ones for the year: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Magnolia Warbler, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Indigo Bunting.

Banded 88:
3 Mourning Doves
1 Tree Swallow
1 Blue Jay
4 House Wrens
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Wood Thrush
1 American Robin
6 Gray Catbirds
2 Warbling Vireos
3 Blue-winged Warblers
4 Nashville Warblers
15 Yellow Warblers
1 Magnolia Warbler
2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Western Palm Warbler
1 Ovenbird
5 Common Yellowthroats
2 Field Sparrows
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
3 Swamp Sparrows
4 White-throated Sparrows
3 Eastern White-crowned Sparrows
5 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
4 Baltimore Orioles
8 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 28:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Tree Swallow
2 House Wrens
1 Gray Catbird
2 Blue-winged Warblers
5 Yellow Warblers
3 Common Yellowthroats
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1 Indigo Bunting
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Field Sparrow
3 Song Sparrows
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
2 Baltimore Orioles

ET’s: 73 spp.

Photo Gallery:

Rick