Even the dawn was warm….and it just got hotter as the day progressed, finally reaching 28 C. by around 1300. The field-edge interface was busy all morning and the realignment of several nets to take advantage of this new dynamic is paying off. We banded 80 birds of which 59 (74.8%) were sparrows. The newest addition to this aggregation was the first Eastern White-crowned Sparrow of the season. We ended closing earlier than usual as the heat and unforgiving sunshine would have been dangerous for birds, especially in the exposed nets.
With these numbers, the long Thanksgiving Weekend should be interesting….
Banded 80:
1 Eastern Wood-pewee (a surprising late migrant with a long way to go)
1 Eastern Phoebe
10 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Winter Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 American Robin
1 Eastern White-crowned Warbler
19 White-throated Sparrows
18 Song Sparrows
7 Lincoln’s Sparrows
14 Swamp Sparrows
3 Common Yellowthroats
ET’s: 32 spp.
Rick