Presunrise beauty sets off the dawn chorus.
Another beautiful morning!! Wondrous sunrise; refreshing cool temperatures turning, in the course of the morning, to confortable warmth; no wind; no clouds. If I was a long-distance migrant I would be givin’ ‘er – getting all the distance I could: makin’ hay while the sun shines. And that seems to be what’s going on. We had a few, but not a lot, of migrants moving through. The first highlight of the morning for me was a spectacular ASY (After Second Year) male Black-throated Blue Warbler. One of the many things I find interesting about this species is that the majority of the population spend the Winter on islands in the Carribean, meaning that they have to undertake fairly lengthy over-water crossings in both north and south legs of their migration. Running into bad conditions could be disastrous. I wonder how they gauge the conditions and what makes them decide to head out.
Wing feather detail of this ASY male Black-throated Blue Warbler.
Christine with a Black-throated Blue Warbler.
We recaptured 3 Blue-winged Warblers from previous years. One was an ASY bird when we banded it in 2009 making it at least 6 years old now. We also recaptured a previously banded Brewster’s Warbler. A number of year ago we went through a period where this hybrid (Blue-winged x Golden-winged cross) was a regular occurrence. But not now. For the past couple of years we’re seeing “pure” Blue-winged Warblers and haven’t even come across a Golden-winged. This latter species is now a bird of the past in this area, completely overcome by Blue-winged Warblers.
First banded Gray Catbird of the year….the first of probably many.
Wing detail of this ASY Gray Catbird.
The second highlight today was a Red-headed Woodpecker that flew high over the parking lot moving from west to east. Later I heard it calling from the area of the farm/barn across the highway. It would be wonderful to have them breeding in the area again.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher building its nest; taken with a cell phone through a telescope by Matt Timpf. Made of lichen and spider webs.
Banded 35:
1 Mourning Dove
3 Blue Jays
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Gray Catbird
1 Blue-winged Warbler
5 Yellow Warblers
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
2 Chipping Sparrows
4 White-throated Sparrows
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Baltimore Oriole
11 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 57 spp.
Rick