The Force was strong with us (i.e., Rick, Master Jedi/Bander, and Brian, acolyte) this day. On the first round, usually the best round of the day, we had only 3 birds. This did not auger well for the grade 2 class from Cayuga that would show up around 9:00. [We find that fast-talking grade 2’s doesn’t go very far: after 20 seconds of “Well kids, Ruthven Park is one of only 22 Canadian Migration Monitoring Stations spread across the whole country” or “Aging warblers can be done by examining moult limits…”, their eyes kind of glass over and they start poking each other. So, the Force was certainly called for here! This is where being a Master Bander/Jedi comes into play. After a little deep thought (and the sight of the big yellow school bus coming up the lane), we were able to will birds into the nets. Consequently, we had lots of birds to show the kids and to keep them anticipating the next net round (and keep from poking each other). And we all lived happily ever after……
On the other hand, the Force was NOT strong with Giovanni this day. If it had been, he would have willed his Mom to blow off school and get him to Ruthven. If he had he would have experienced the banding of a beautiful male Chestnut-sided Warbler – one of the birds he most wanted to see. Not being a Master Jedi/Bander certainly has its frustrations.
Banded 34:
1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
1 Eastern Wood Peewee
1 Traill’s Flycatcher
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 House Wren
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 Gray Catbird
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Red-eyed Vireo
6 Yellow Warblers (where are they coming from!?)
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
2 Magnolia Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Indigo Buntings
1 Field Sparrow
2 Song Sparrows
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 American Goldfinches (just when you think there can’t possibly be any more to band…)
Retrapped 8:
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 House Wren
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 Orchard Oriole
2 Baltimore Orioles
1 American Goldfinch
We had a sighting first for Ruthven: Brian spotted a Black-crowned Night Heron flying down the river.