April 22, 2013

It rained last night and into this morning which during migration might mean birds!  I went to Possum Long to check and began hearing them.  I added Cape May Warbler and Blackpoll Warbler to the year list.  Luckily Nancy Price was available so we set up 5 nets.  Even though it was a late start, we did get a few birds.

First off we got (can you guess?) a Gray Catbird and recaptured the green (female or second-year male) Painted Bunting from a few weeks ago.  It was reassuring to see that it had added a bunch of fat in preparation for migration.  We check just below the neck to see if the area is bulging or hollow.

Painted Bunting

Photo by Nancy Price

We also caught two female Northern Cardinals today.  One was a recapture from March and the other was new and showed evidence of recent nesting.  Females have a bare belly (brood patch) that they use to keep the eggs warm in the nest.  After the eggs hatch the swelling goes down and the skin is quite wrinkled.  

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Nancy Price

We also caught two Black-throated Blue Warblers today, the first ones since last fall.  Luckily these warblers feed closer to or even on the ground so they are more likely to be caught.  Both "blues" were after-second-year males.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Photos by Nancy Price

Unless it rains, we will be banding tomorrow as scheduled, April 23.