January 15 & 16, 2018

We spent a marvelous two sessions with Painted Bunting hosts on Monday and Tuesday.

Monday's host (PB 74) is new to our project and is hosting quite a few birds.  She has been feeding buntings since 2009.  We banded 14 at her site.

male Painted Bunting

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

green (female or young male) Painted Bunting

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

We also captured a Red-bellied Woodpecker.  Woodpeckers can retain several generations of feathers over the first 3 years of life which allows specific aging to the first, second, and third year and then as older than three.  This one shows young feathers retained on its wing (red arrow).

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

On Tuesday we returned to PB 60 and there we banded 17 new Painted Buntings as well as recapturing 13 more.  The data from the recaptures is great to have.  One of the recaptures was from 2 years ago.  It was banded as a male so is now at least 4 years old.  Pete asked who had banded that one and it turned out that he had!  It was a nice reunion.

Pete Grannis with a bird he had banded 2 years ago.  

We also banded an Ovenbird, 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 3 Northern Cardinals, and a Gray Catbird.  We also recaptured an Indigo Bunting we had banded there the previous year.

Ovenbird

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

recaptured Indigo Bunting getting a bit of revenge

Photo by Pete Grannis

For those of you who have been following Pete's slo-mo videos, here's one of his latest of the release of a green Painted Bunting.  Enjoy!

video by Pete Grannis

If all goes well and weather cooperates, we hope to be back at the Possum Long Banding Station on February 13.  In the meantime we will be at more Painted Bunting locations and will update here.

Painted Bunting Season 5 total:  111

January 5, 7, and 8, 2018

Welcome 2018!  The Painted Bunting season is still underway and we have more appointments.  Possum Long will begin again in February - watch here for updates.

We banded at PB 1 on January 5.  We banded 4 new Painted Buntings and recaptured 3.  Remember recapture data tells us a lot about plumage, age, and survival.

We could have had an interesting capture but unfortunately we did not catch the bird.  PB 1 was hosting a Dickcissel for a few days.  The bird even entered the trap but did not set off the treadle.  Seeing it and photographing it has to suffice.

Dickcissel at PB1

On January 7 we ventured to a new host site, PB 73, where we saw buntings but were unable to catch any.  The yard configuration, wind, and lighting alerted the buntings to the net.  We have provided this site with a temporary caged feeder in the hopes that they will use that and we can trap there.  In the meantime, several other species hit the nets.  We banded 3 House Sparrows, 2 Red-winged Blackbirds, and a Palm Warbler.  

House Sparrow

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

This male's throat will become much more black not by molting but by wear.  You can see some black under the white at the bottom center of this photo.  The white wears off, revealing the full black throat.

Red-winged Blackbird

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Palm Warbler

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

On January 8 we returned to PB 2.  We had hoped to visit earlier but the weather has been uncooperative to say the least.  We managed to band 5 new Painted Buntings and recapture 1 from a previous year before it rained.  We hope to return later on to band more of the unbanded birds that are there.

Painted Bunting

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Painted Bunting

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

If all goes well and weather cooperates, we hope to be back at the Possum Long Banding Station on February 13.  In the meantime we will be at more Painted Bunting locations and will update here.

Painted Bunting Season 5 total:  80