Northern Cardinal
and the same bird giving her opinion of the bands
Gray Catbird
Our best bird of the day was a Wood Thrush. Thankfully Pete and Jim had put up the net in the woods area. I had been reading a few past posts from the Wekiva Banding Station. I told the group that they had Wood and Hermit Thrushes recently. We had only had one of each so I wasn't sure it would happen but it did! Our second ever Wood Thrush.
Wood Thrush
On Saturday, we made a return visit to PB 47. Our hosts were very accommodating in letting us schedule on very short notice. We banded 5 new buntings and recaptured a male we had banded the previous season. All four green birds were born this past summer. This can be seen in the wing feathers in hand but not when perched. The small brown feathers under and right of the thumb are not edged with green. This is the only indication of this bird's age. Since it will not molt again until next fall, this bird could return showing male colors after that molt or remain green if it is female.
Painted Bunting (green immature)
Incidental captures were a Northern Cardinal, a Yellow-rumped Warbler and two Blue Jays. One of the Blue Jays had a deformed bill that had actually crossed. Luckily it seems able to close its bill and to eat by grabbing seeds from the side. It was otherwise healthy and feisty.
Blue Jay with crossed bill
We will not be banding at Possum Long until some time after the holidays. Once we begin to see more activity, the usual Tuesday sessions will resume. Watch for announcements at the bottom of blog entries! Our best wishes to you and your families. Painted Bunting posts will continue.
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