First we got a Yellow-rumped Warbler. You can see the obvious yellow rump and also the less obvious faint eye line indicating the eastern "Myrtle" subspecies .
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Photo by Bill Eaton
Then Nancy Price brought the long-awaited Eastern Phoebe to the banding table. We examined this flycatcher up close noting the bristles around its beak and the lovely yellow color of the interior of its mouth. The legs were small in proportion to this larger bird's body. The aerial life does not require strong legs.
Eastern Phoebe
Photo by Bill Eaton
Eastern Phoebe
Photo by Bill Eaton
Next on the agenda was the House Wren. It was fun to reacquaint myself with a bird we frequently caught at the MAPS station where I used to band.
House Wren
Photo by Bill Eaton
The last new bird of the day was a Common Yellowthroat. This was a young male bird. The black edge of the face mask is just starting to appear.
Common Yellowthroat
Photo by Bill Eaton
We also had a recapture of a Painted Bunting originally banded in March. A green Painted Bunting is either a female or a young male. By looking we cannot tell age or sex even now. Since we know when the bird was banded and time has now passed and the bird has not molted in the male coloration, we now know the bird is female.
Painted Bunting
Photo by Bill Eaton
Crystal kept busy today noting birds on the property and photographing some of our surroundings. A pair of American Kestrels kept us enthralled and this pink mushroom was quite different:
Both photos by Crystal Conway
By popular vote, next banding will be December 17. Nets go up at 6:30. We will take a holiday break and expect to resume on December 31 with a visiting scout troop. Let's see how the year end totals are on the last day of 2013!
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