The 3 days of relatively “quiet” bird activity ended today. Sparrows were once again dancing around the prairie grass seed heads or flying between the prairie and the edge. For our eBird list we put down 75 Song Sparrows and 50 Swamp Sparrows but these are, I feel, gross underestimates. You couldn’t look out over the meadow without seeing sparrows on the move.
But there were more than sparrows around today. We banded 15 different species (see below); Jason Smyrlis noted 32 species on his census; and overall we counted 43 species. I find that these overcast unsettled days provide the best banding.
Almost EVERY bird we handled today carried a good fat load. These are birds on the move or getting really ready to go. Those that are staying are doing so just to put on that fat – we had 45 retraps.
Banded 68:
2 Eastern Phoebes
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Eastern Bluebird
2 Hermit Thrushes
4 Cedar Waxwings
3 Purple Finches
5 American Goldfinches
1 Field Sparrow
1 American Tree Sparrow
5 White-throated Sparrows
26 Song Sparrows
12 Swamp Sparrows [Our total so far of 361 is close to last year’s 388]
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
[45 retraps]
Rick