January 31, 2015 Grassland Sparrow Study visit

Though this did not occur at Possum Long, it is worth sharing.  For the past 4 years, I have gone to and assisted at the Weeki Wachee Sparrow Banding at Spring Hill, FL.  Marianne and Clay have been studying grassland sparrows for the past 8 years.  Their study aims to determine what species are present and if birds return to the same location (site fidelity).  Actually some birds have returned to the same field in subsequent years .

Grasslands at the Weeki Wachee Preserve

yes, there are nets up

Grassland birds are hard to detect almost anytime.  On their breeding grounds they may perch higher and sing but most of the time and in winter they are deep in the grasses and if flushed they return to the ground and run away.  Birds are corralled into the nets by a line of people walking toward the nets.  Birds are extracted, banded, and released.

I was fortunate to assist with this effort.  We banded 26 birds.  3 House Wrens and the sparrows:  5 Grasshopper, 8 Savannah, 9 Swamp, and a Henslow's!  The Henslow's was my first observed in Florida and my 97th species banded.  Two Wilson's Snipe (I extracted one) were also caught but they are not on Marianne's permit so they were not banded.

Henslow's Sparrow

photo taken by a participant with my camera

Wilson's Snipe

Being busy I did not take photos of the other species but I do have some photos from other years which are shared below.

Swamp Sparrow

Photo by Bill Eaton

Comparison of Grasshopper (front) and LeConte's Sparrow (back) from 2012

LeConte's not captured this year

Savannah Sparrow