December 5, 2017

Possum Long held some excitement for us today but not in the form of a bird we could band.  We did band 1 new Gray Catbird and recaptured a Painted Bunting and another Gray Catbird so you could say it was slow.

The excitement made up for that!

One of the first net runs there was something BIG in the net.  As usual I started to curse the squirrels.  Last time I did that the "squirrel" was a Chuck-will's-widow!  This time it was..............

....... a Cooper's Hawk.  I can reassure you that though the photo is dramatic and may be upsetting, the bird was extracted fairly easily and it flew off just fine (see video to follow).  We used a cloth bag to cover the bird's head while we untangled its claws.  This kept the bird calm and kept us uninjured.  The permit we operate under does not allow for the banding of raptors (hawks, eagles, and falcons).  So we released it unbanded.  Pete took another slo-mo video.

This Cooper's Hawk is a young bird.  It will eventually develop a reddish color on the chest.  Typically this kind of hawk hunts birds but this one dropped a rodent near the net.  

release of Cooper's Hawk

video by Pete Grannis

So, thus ends banding at Possum Long for 2017.  We will recommence at a later date.  Watch this blog for updates.  Painted Bunting banding sessions will continue to be posted here.