What a change in weather in 24 hours! Since yesterday morning we received 4 mm of rain and a drop in temperature of 10 degrees (which, with the wind, feels like considerably more). The sunrise was impressive with pink/orange painting the bottom of the covering clouds before bursting above the horizon and coating the tops of the trees with greeny-gold light, highlighting the white heads of 2 adult Bald Eagles perched in the top of a spruce in front of the Mansion.

The wind was blowing hard out of the west most of the night into the morning and I was wondering if we would even be able to open the nets let alone catch any birds as the nets would be billowing so much. But we opened and it’s a good thing: we handled 76 birds of 27 species, 15 of them warblers. Of the 64 birds banded, 72% of them were warblers. This made for a fun morning as you just didn’t what gem you would find in the next net.

Peter Scholtens and his kids (avid birders all) showed up early and were a big help throughout the morning.

Banded 64:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1 Traill’s Flycatcher (probably Willow)
3 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers
3 Red-eyed Vireos
5 Tennessee Warblers
1 Nashville Warbler
3 Chestnut-sided Warblers
8 Magnolia Warblers
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
2 Blackburnian Warblers
2 Bay-breasted Warblers
8 Blackpoll Warblers
1 Black & White Warbler
3 American Redstarts
2 Ovenbirds
3 Common Yellowthroats
1 Wilson’s Warbler
2 Canada Warblers
2 Scarlet Tanagers
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
6 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 12:
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blue-winged Warbler
2 Magnolia Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Black & White Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Song Sparrows
1 American Goldfinch

ET’s: 46 spp.

Rick