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

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.

November 28, December 2 & 3, 2017

Our regular Possum Long Banding session was mostly a recapture day with only 2 new birds.  We recaptured a Gray Catbird from November 11, 2014.  It was still in great shape after having made a few trips since it was originally banded.  Pete took a slo-mo movie which I am attempting to add.

releasing a Gray Catbird

Video by Pete Grannis

We also recaptured and banded Painted Buntings.  Our recapture data is looking very good and adding one more at Possum Long has given us 17 there this season.  

The other new bird banded was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - so tiny.  It weighed only 6 grams which is just a tad more than a nickel weighs.  (Painted Buntings average 15 grams)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Sincere thanks go out to Nancy Price and Pat Marshall who hung all of our nets that were not in use and inspected them for holes.  Nets age or get snagged in plants and other things.  Sometimes for a bird's safety we need to cut a strand or two.  Net repair can be tedious but having these marked will make the job much easier.  I appreciate their hard work.

Quite a few years ago, PB 27 hosted Dr. Rotenburg (NC summer Painted Buntings Project leader - PBOT)  when he was in Florida to see a NC bird she had at her feeders.  Then we began our winter study.  Now she has hosted us quite a few times.  This site has a long Painted Bunitng history.  Saturday we returned to PB 27.  We banded 16 birds - 15 were green (10 born this past summer, 5 female) and 1 male.  We noted a few more males and recaptured one but there is an abundance of greens at PB 27 right now.  

Painted Buntings at PB 27 (new green and recaptured male)

Photos by Bill LaFrambosie

The recaptured male bird had a very faded red band.  We replaced it with a new one but you can see how brown the faded one looks.

Sunday we returned to PB 46.  We banded 7 new Painted Buntings and all of them were birds born this past summer.  We did see male birds though.  We also caught a new Blue Jay.  It was also born this past summer.  

Blue Jay

Our last Possum Long session for 2017 will be Tuesday, December 5.  Nets go up at 6:30.  We will announce our return to Possum Long after the holidays.  Until the, keep a watch here for more Painted Buntings Season 5 reports.  

Painted Bunting total so far:  70!

November 21, 2017 Session cancelled due to rain

This session is cancelled due to rain.  See you next week.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Wild Turkey
not taken at Possum Long

November 14, 17, and 19

Tuesday at Possum Long was better with the arrival of more Yellow-rumped Warblers.  We banded 4 of them in addition to a Black-throated Blue Warbler, 2 Gray Catbirds, and a Northern Cardinal. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Photo by Pete Grannis

Gray Catbird

Photo by Pete Grannis

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Photo by Pete Grannis

Since we have been banding near the pond at Possum Long, several folks wondered if there were more birds back at our "woods" net.  This area is our best area for numbers and diversity.  No coincidence that it is densely vegetated and has pretty good ground cover.

So, we returned to Possum Long on Friday to test the theory.  It did pay off.  We banded 2 Painted Buntings (known for their love of cover), 2 Gray Catbirds, and an American Redstart.  We also recaptured the Carolina Wren that was one of the first birds we banded this fall.  We could not get all of the bird's measurements then as it was molting.  It is now fully feathered and we collected all of the typical data.

Carolina Wren

On Sunday we revisited PB 1.  Though there were quite a few birds attending the feeders, it was a bit windy and we only caught 3 new buntings and recaptured one from last spring.  It had been banded as a young, green bird and it remained green so we now know it is a female.  

Painted Bunting (male)

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Grand total of Painted Buntings to date is 45.

Next scheduled banding at Possum Long is November 21.  Nets go up at 6:30 am.

November 4, 5, and 7, 2017

Things have really slowed down yet we are still catching a few new birds.  We banded at PB 32 on Saturday and at Possum Long on Sunday and Tuesday.

Painted Bunting sessions will become more of our entries over the next few months.  We will continue at Possum Long until early December but will be taking a break over the holidays.

Our return trip to PB 32 was productive.  We banded 2 new buntings and recaptured another.  It is always great visiting with our hosts.

Painted Bunting

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

On Sunday we tried setting up at the pond at Possum Long.  Unfortunately the water is high so we cannot span the water as we have in the past.  We did manage to catch a Painted Bunting, 2 Gray Catbirds, a Common Yellowthroat, and an Eastern Phoebe.  Eastern Phoebes are winter residents and we rarely catch them.

Eastern Phoebe

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Gray Catbird

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Common Yellowthroat

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

At our regular Tuesday session we again caught Painted Buntings, two of them.  The good news is there seem to still be some banded and unbanded ones around.  Maybe they are still arriving??  We also caught a Common Yellowthroat that had been banded last year.  Nice to see some site fidelity in that species.

Painted Bunting - hatch year, sex unknown

Photo by Pete Grannis

Common Yellowthroat

Photo by Pete Grannis

The next regularly scheduled Possum Long banding will be on November 14.  Nets go up at 6:15.