August 27, 2013 And so it begins......

Today gave us our first captures of fall migrants.  Slowly but surely, we will be seeing more new birds for the Possum Long Banding Station.

Today started with a Wild Turkey rodeo.  There were two birds under the large feeder just past the Strangler Fig.  We don't want them entangled in the nets so we walked either side of them and they moseyed on toward the pond where we had no nets today.

Wild Turkey (photo from August 6)

First off we recaptured "28" the female Northern Cardinal originally banded in March and recaptured last week and the week before.  She had molted/lost almost her entire tail last week and it was just beginning to grow in.  The tail feathers were a bit longer this week.  We finally photographed her!  You can see part of her band number in the original of this photograph  - the last 2 digits which are 28.

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Nancy Price

Then we had our first warbler of the day.  Prior to this banding station, all of my banding was done in the Pacific Northwest so hearing the call "warbler in the net" is music to my ears.  Two years ago I heard that a Hooded Warbler had been seen at Possum Long but I did not get to see it.  Now we have banded one!

Hooded Warbler
Photo by Nancy Price

We caught and banded another female Northern Cardinal and soon after a brief rain surprised us so we shut down for a short time.  After it cleared we shook out the nets but left them open to dry.  A male Northern Cardinal was caught but he was molting so much and he was a bit damp, so in the interest of his well being we released him unbanded.

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Nancy Price

Next we caught a Worm-eating Warbler.  He bit and chipped the entire time we banded and took data and even later we could hear its calls in the undergrowth.  Luckily for me it doesn't bite nearly as hard as the cardinals.

Worm-eating Warbler
Photo by Nancy Price

Last but not least was another Northern Cardinal.  This one was born this summer told by the new red feathering that was growing in and his black bill.  There were a few small black feathers starting to show around the base of the bill.

Northern Cardinal (hatch year male)

Photo by Nancy Price

Not much diversity today but we can't complain with the two warbler species we did get!  Barn Swallow and Hooded Warbler were new for the 2013 year list.

Next banding session:  September 3, nets open at 6:30.  Come see if we get more migrants.