March 6, 2018

Another catching-up post here.  On Tuesday March 6, we banded at Possum Long.  We are starting to see a few more species that might be moving north to this location from over-wintering nearby or actually going on their way.  There really isn't any proof of which it is.  The catbirds that we caught earlier in the winter may have stayed at Possum Long or they may have gone farther south and came back through on their trip north.  Some of the Gray Catbirds are showing some fat accumulation which indicates they will be moving. 

It was a Gray Catbird day.  We banded two new ones and recaptured 4 more.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

One of the recaptures was from March, 2014.  This means that this bird has flown up or down the east coast EIGHT times and returned to the same spot as 4 years ago!  Isn't migration fascinating.

As we wait for more species of migrants I especially appreciate the volunteers who come out week after week and are patient through sessions like this that seem slow.  They are the backbone of this project!

This is a catch-up post.  Next session details are on the March 13 entry.