Once again we banded Swainson's Thrush - three of them. There were more unbanded ones viewed.
Swainson's Thrush
We also banded three more Ovenbirds.
Ovenbird
One of the species banded early in the morning was a Northern Parula. This is a young bird with the typical red and/or slate breast band are not developed. The wing bars and yellow lower bill are visible.
Northern Parula
Photo by Robin Potvin
A very big surprise was a Swainson's Warbler. The previous ones (only 3!) we banded were in September. Upon returning home I read that there was one banded in Georgia today so maybe more will be coming through.
Swainson's Warbler
Photo by Robin Potvin
The Worm-eating Warbler we banded was a good species to compare with the Swainson's Warbler. The central crown stripe and bill size look quite different.
Worm-eating Warbler
Today was a "three species of thrushes" day. In addition to the Swainson's Thrush above, we banded a Veery and a Gray-cheeked Thrush. The Gray-cheeked measured beyond a doubt to be well out of the range of Bicknell's Thrush. The Veery, below, shows the classic red/rufous color of this species.
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Veery
The last species banded was Black-throated Blue Warbler. Banding three of them made for nice age and subspecies comparisons. Two of the birds were adult males, the other was a young bird. Two were the Appalachian subspecies (black marking on the back) and one was from the non-Appalachian population.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Appalachian subspecies
Photos by Robin Potvin
Our recaptures were exciting. Both had been banded in September, 2013 as hatch-year birds. So both are three years old.
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Next banding: Tuesday, October 4, but Hurricane Matthew may cancel this session. Email keepbirding2@yahoo.com if you want to be notified of session status. If clear, nets go up at 6:45 am.
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