Shortly after opening the nets I took my binoculars and investigated the trees on the front lawn of the Mansion. It made my day to see 3 colourful Blackburnian Warblers high in an Ash tree. And that was before the banding began!
A new population of birds inhabited the park, at least as far as Eastern White Crowned Sparrows go. Once we band these guys, they tend to hang around the feeders for weeks, putting on fat, being caught daily. Monday for instance, I had one new bird, for 5 retraps. Today however, all 5 were “newâ€. The same story is true for Chipping Sparrows, and today 5 were new with only 1 retrapped bird.
The Baltimore Orioles were a noisy lot today. They seemed to be singing every where, making it difficult to count them. 10 Orioles made their way into nets. Most were striking after second year males. One was a retrap that we banded in 2002, and haven’t seen since.
I had both a male Blue-winged Warbler and a female Brewster’s Warbler. (Brewster’s is a Golden-winged X Blue-winged hybrid) And I’m not sure what you get if they were to mate.
Banded 61
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Blue Jay
6 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
3 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 American Robin
5 Grey Catbirds
1 Blue-winged Warbler
6 Yellow Warblers
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
2 Black-and-White Warblers
1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Wilson’s Warblers
3 Rose Breasted Grosbeaks
1 Indigo Bunting
5 Chipping Sparrows
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
5 Eastern White Crowned Sparrows
6 Baltimore Orioles
9 American Goldfinches
Retrapped
1 Brewster’s Warbler
1 House Wren
4 Yellow Warblers
1 Chipping Sparrow
2 Song Sparrows
4 Baltimore Orioles
2 American Goldfinches
The new kids on in the park today were: Brewster’s Warbler
Wilson ’s Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Swainson’s Thrush
It was unfortunate that I didn’t get a census done, as I know there were more species around than the Estimated Total of 56 that I counted.
Loretta
A few pictures from today (click for a larger image):
Common Yellowthroat
A Lincoln’s Sparrow
