It was a chilly and calm start to the day, with an opening net round that yielded 9 species of warblers. We thought it was going to be a crazy day, but it calmed down after the excellent start. In total, we handled 52 birds, 41 of which were new, and 11 recaptures. It was a diverse day with 27 species handled.

New for the fall banding season included Blackpoll and Blackburnian Warblers, as well as 2 Gray-cheeked Thrush. We caught a Wilson’s Warbler today with some aberrant plumage. It had some bright yellow feathers in its crown.

With very chilly temperatures in the forecast for tonight, it will be interesting to see if we have a big influx of migrants tomorrow morning.

New Birds = 41
Magnolia Warbler – 1
Blackburnian Warbler – 1
American Redstart – 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 2
Wilson’s Warbler – 2
Tennessee Warbler – 1
Canada Warbler – 1
Blackpoll Warbler – 2
Ovenbird – 4
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – 1
Least Flycatcher – 1
Trail’s Flycatcher – 1
Eastern Wood Pewee – 6
House Wren – 1
Chipping Sparrow – 2
Field Sparrow – 1
American Goldfinch – 1
Red-eyed Vireo – 1
Indigo Bunting – 1
House Finch – 2
Downy Woodpecker – 1
Swainson’s Thrush – 1
Gray- cheeked Thrush – 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak -2
Mourning Dove – 1

Recaptures = 11
Wilson’s Warbler – 1
Canada Warbler – 1
Eastern Wood Pewee – 2
Black-capped Chickadee – 2
Eastern Tufted Titmouse – 1
Chipping Sparrow – 1
House Finch – 1
American Goldfinch – 2

Fall Banding Total = 154
2013 Banding Total = 2832

Matt Timpf

Wilson’s Warbler with unusual plumage

Blackburnian Warbler