Cool, blustery winds were the order of the day. Almost felt like Fall. The high winds resulted in a couple of the more exposed nets not being opened. I really wasn’t expecting that much today because of the winds. But, in retrospect, it was probably because of the them that we got the birds we did. They picked up during the night causing another “fallout”. The interesting thing is the number of warblers that we caught – 79% of the banded birds were warblers, 16 of the 23 species. It seems to me that we have not had a Fall like this for some time with so many long-distance migrants banded. It certainly makes things interesting! We have already, after only 8 days, set new records for 2 warbler species banded here at Ruthven: Bay-breasted Warblers – 25 banded (old record, 9); Black & White Warblers – 15 banded (11).

Banded 71:
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
2 Least Flycatchers
3 Veerys
6 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blue-winged Warbler
2 Tennessee Warblers
4 Nashville Warblers
8 Chestnut-sided Warblers
6 Magnolia Warblers
3 Black-throated Blue Warblers
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
2 Blackburnian Warblers
4 Bay-breasted Warblers
10 Blackpoll Warblers
3 Black & White Warblers
4 American Redstarts
2 Ovenbirds
2 Northern Waterthrushes
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Canada Warbler
1 American Goldfinch

Retrapped 7:
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Tennessee Warbler
2 Magnolia Warblers
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Black & White Warbler

ET’s: 53 spp.

Rick