Stunning male Canada Warbler.
In the predawn, while starting to open nets, I could hear the call notes of birds high overhead….maybe starting to descend. The temperature, 16 C, was refreshing and there was a low fog and heavy dew. Lovely. But as soon as the sun got up you could feel the heat, radiating off the ground, sucking all the moisture from the plants and out of the air. And soon, I was sweating. Where was this weather in July!?
Mourning Warbler.
Never having been on its back, this Blackpoll Warbler (1st of the season) doesn’t know what to do. As soon as we rolled it over it took off for the trees.
There were several mixed species flocks along the edges. Each one associated with Black-capped Chickadees. These hardy little birds, which tend to mob predators rather than flee, act as sentinels, early warning systems – good birds for migrants, who don’t know the dangers of the sites they descend in to, to hang out with.
Never having been on its back, this Blackpoll Warbler (1st of the season) doesn’t know what to do. As soon as we rolled it over it took off for the trees.
We caught birds early and until mid-morning but after that it was slim pickings – siesta time, a good way to avoid the heat of the day, rest, and digest.
Male (left) and female Canada Warblers.
Banded 30:
1 Mourning Dove
2 Eastern Wood Pewees
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
3 House Wrens
3 Swainson’s Thrushes
4 Gray Catbirds
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Yellow-throated Vireo
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Black & White Warbler
1 Canada Warbler
5 Ovenbirds
1 Mourning Warbler
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
First Nashville Warbler of the season – estimated to be one of the most numerous birds in Ontario.
ET’s: 44 spp.
Rick