October 27, 2018

Not too much new news.  Banding with Dr Ed Rykiel and team on Tuesday was a bit slow but started off with a bang.  Two Hermit Thrushes and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Not too sure how many other birds but it was fairly quiet.

Hermit Thrush

Thought you might enjoy seeing one of the banded White-crowned Sparrows.  We have two split colors:  red/blue and yellow/orange.  This pictures shows how even with a camera it can be tough telling all 4 bands.  This one is split over silver on the left and bright blue over dark green on the right.  The blue one isn't visible.

White-crowned Sparrow (immature)

February 14, 2017

We had a pretty terrific opening day considering that migration, if it is underway, is just starting.  The day started out with the best bird of the day (see later) and a Northern Cardinal recapture.  All together we banded 9 new birds and 4 of those were all at once.  We also recaptured another Northern Cardinal. There were three types of warblers banded: Yellow-rumped, Palm, and Northern Parula.  In addition there were 2 Black-and-white Warblers seen.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Photo by Roy Netherton

Northern Parula
Photo by Pete Grannis

Fun to see the green back up close.

Northern Parula
Photo by Pete Grannis

Northern Parula
Photo by Pete Grannis

We also banded a few of the larger birds:  1 Blue Jay, 1 Northern Cardinal, and 2 Gray Catbirds.

Our highlight was a Hermit Thrush.  This is only the second Hermit Thrush we have banded on the property.  The first one was one of our first birds in October, 2012.  Always fun to study a "new" bird.

Hermit Thrush

Photo by Roy Netherton

Though this bird might appear a little reddish like a Veery, the spots are darker and more distinct.

Hermit Thrush

Photo by Roy Netherton

The tail is much redder than the back.

Hermit Thrush

Photo by Roy Netherton

A beautiful portrait shot.  Note the bristles near the bill.  When anything touches these, the mouth opens.  A very keen sense of touch.

Hermit Thrush

Photo by Roy Netherton

We were pretty amazed to see the mouth lining, so orange.

The next regularly scheduled Possum Long session will be on Tuesday, February 21.  Nets go up at 6:45 am.

October 31, 2012

This banding day turned out to be fairly quiet but looking on the good side of things, it gave us a chance to practice net setting and to become more efficient at all of the tasks.  We are starting to notice the return of some birds to Possum Long.  It was very nice to hear Eastern Phoebes on the property even though we did not capture one.

Eastern Phoebe photograph by Nancy Price

Our one capture was a Hermit Thrush.  Its red tail was very obvious but we were careful to observe the rest of the field marks.

Hermit Thrush  photograph by Nancy Price

The first wing feathers are called primaries and are counted from the outside toward the body.  P10 is small so P9 is the first feather one can really see in the photograph.  Counting inward, one can see that P9 is shorter than P6 (at fingertip).  This confirms Hermit Thrush.  Also the wing feather shape is visible in this photograph.  The bumps on the upper edges of P6, P7, and P8 is called emargination and is used to differentiate some species.

evaluating wing feathers of Hermit Thrush

photograph by Nancy Price

Hermit Thrushes are birds that skulk in the understory and are frequently undetected.  I have not heard call notes the way I have in other locations.  Catching one is a great data point for the information we are gathering for Possum Long.

We are working on finding bird movement patterns on the property and to find more net locations to test.  Progress!