October 13, 2015

Today was a pretty normal fall banding day.  We had captures of expected birds and a nice returning treat.  We banded 5 Gray Catbirds, 2 Black-throated Blue Warblers, a Northern Cardinal and a Common Yellowthroat.  There were other migrants around (redstarts, Yellow-throated Warbler, gnatcatchers) as well as year-round residents.  A flyover and likely migrating raptor was exciting - as it is always a treat to see a Peregrine Falcon.

One of the five Gray Catbirds had an unusual white mark on its wing.  Two of the covert feathers were white.  Partial albinism is not rare in birds and is always fun to discover even in small amounts.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Jane Wiewora

The male Black-throated Blue Warbler was very well marked with a wide white wing spot and all indications were that he was an adult bird (not born this summer).  We also banded a female of this species.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Photo by Jane Wiewora

The Common Yellowthroat was a young, male bird.  Its black mask was just about outlined on its face.

Common Yellowthroat (young male)

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Our excitement was a returned Painted Bunting that we color banded on February 17th.  At the time this bird was all green.  It likely flew north for the summer.  Now, upon its return it had the brightly colored feathers to show that it is male.  Unfortunately the bird was likely a tad stressed from its migration so we released it without getting photos.  I'm sure everyone will agree that the bird's safety comes first.

Next banding:  Tuesday, October 20.  Nets go up at 6:30 am.