September 8, 2015 Finally four!

After banding on Monday at a Painted Bunting site (see Painted Buntings - Season 3 in the Pages section) and only getting Northern Cardinals I just had to wonder if we would catch something other than cardinals.  Migrants were showing up in larger numbers but sometimes they are hard to catch. We ended up with 4 birds and 4 species banded.

First up was an American Redstart.  It was somewhat camera shy but at least we got a photo!  The true colors aren't well represented in the early morning light but you can see the lighter tail "starts" and some color in the underwing.  In real life these were yellow and this bird was aged and sexed as an adult female.

American Redstart

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Next up was an Ovenbird.  At first we had only detected these 2 warbler species so it was great to have them in the net. The Ovenbird was born this past summer.  The light tips on the wing coverts indicate this.  All birds should have tiny arrows to show these key features!

Ovenbird

Photo by Jane Wiewora

We had a bit of a wait but soon we had a Black-throated Blue Warbler.  This bird was aged/sexed as a young male based on the colors and the fact that the black throat had some white speckles instead of being solid black.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Lastly we caught a Worm-eating Warbler.  I don't think I can ever again think of this species without remembering a typo I saw that labeled one as a Work-eating Warbler.  So fun to imagine!!  This bird cannot be sexed but was aged as an adult bird.  

Worm-eating Warbler

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Also on the property were 2 Summer Tanagers, 1 Scarlet Tanager, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and a Great Crested Flycatcher.  Come on migrants!

I expect that the next few weeks will bring us more migrants.  Come visit.  Nets go up early and most birds are caught pretty early but come when you can.  

Next session:  September 15.  Nets go up at 6:30.