September 9, 2014 A day of stripes!

The migrants have arrived and they did so in style!  Today was the day of the stripes.  Our first bird in the nets was a Northern Waterthrush, a first for Possum Long, my second ever.  The previous one was at a Painted Bunting location last winter.

Northern Waterthrush

Photo by Nancy LaFramboise

Our second bird was a record breaker!!  This bird had never been documented in Martin County that we know of.  It is a migrant bird that lurks in thick undergrowth and has probably been through the area before but no one had detected or documented it. It was also a new species for me to band.  

Swainson's Warbler

Photo by Nancy Price

You can see the difference from the above Northern Waterthrush (no streaks) and if you look at Worm-eating Warbler below you can see the rusty cap (Swainson's) instead of the multiple stripes (Worm-eating).  The Swainson's Warbler's bill is also larger.  I love its tiny feet.  

Worm-eating Warbler (from another session)

Photo by Georgia Binderow

Swainson's Warbler

Photo by Nancy Price

The next stripes of the day were those of the Ovenbird, our first and second of the season.  See the stripes?

Ovenbirds

Both photos by Georgia Binderow

Last but not least, we caught a very young Northern Cardinal.  Its bill is still dark and its crest isn't fully developed.

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Nancy LaFramboise

One of the things that a bander can look at to age a new, young bird is evidence that all of the tail feathers grew in at the same time.  An adult molts its feathers in a symmetric sequence, not all at the same time.  When the young bird is being fed, there are different colors deposited in the tail as food type and abundance varies.  Sometimes we can see these bands of color and if they are lined up, it means the feathers grew in together.  This photo was enhanced to show the faint bands on the tail that we can see when we hold the feathers up to the light.  See if you can see bands near the upper center - hopefully the photo isn't too small.

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Nancy LaFramboise

We had a wonderful session.  Migration should bring us more delights for the next few weeks.  Hope you can join us at the station or here on the blog.

Next session, September 16.  Nets go up at 6:30 am.