I got a real kick out of one of the school kids the other day who recognized our “diabolical” (his word) scheme to lure birds into the nets: We have hung feeders close to 3 of the nets and they must “run the gauntlet” to reach them. This morning a stiff SW wind was blowing what leaves there were across the sky and showers were falling and….we were tired after a pretty long one and a half months of daily banding so Loretta and I decided that we would not open any nets and traps and thus give the birds free and unfettered access to the feeders. Instead I puttered around entering data (mostly) and rearranging the lab….and generally taking it easy. I was almost tempted to put Nancy’s 1A net into play when a flock of Rusty Blackbird flew into its vicinity. I even opened it. But when I saw that the wind would just billow it, I closed it up and went back to data entry. As the song says, you gotta know when to fold ‘em.
Loretta brought in a couple of treats – homemade cookies and….42 NEW bird bags. Now any bander that has ever visited our lab has quickly pointed out that we have the very best bags in, possibly, the world. Thanks to Loretta.
I went quickly over the numbers for this Fall and found that we have new high totals for 18 species so far. Unfortunately I left the list in my other pants so you’ll just have to wait to find out what they are.
Rick