Business as Usual

Weather is finally getting back to normal. For now. We did have concerns as a small bit of a front was clearing and sprinkles were falling as we were setting nets. Those clouds broke (only to rain down on us a little later) but we soldiered through and managed to catch a few birds during the morning.

Right at dawn, we recaptured a House Wren that has been hanging around for a while and Andrew had to band it in the near dark.



Abe got the majority of the banding duties today and the other early captures were a couple of Northern Cardinals. The male was first and, after processing, William got to handle this feisty bird for a few seconds. As mentioned in earlier posts, it is best to have a stick handy to keep the Cardinals from taking a bite of any handler.



Bill, Williams Dad, got to officially release the bird back into the forest.



Nearby, a young female Cardinal was captured and Richard help process the bird along the way.



As we prepared to make the next round of net checks we heard Richard calling by Net 4. Something exciting in the nets? Almost. Seems we had a possum that stopped by to visit us.



After hearing them all over the place, we finally caught a new Gray Catbird this morning. The upper inter bill being light indicated that this was a younger bird.



A lot of Ruby-crowned Kinglets were heard and seen all day and we were lucky enough to capture one of the migrating males today. Many were chasing other birds and flaring their brilliant crests.



Robins and Goldfinches were heard and seen flying overhead all morning and we are still waiting for the Cedar Waxwings to stop by for the season. Momma bear is still be reported across the river but there is no sign of her visiting here like last year.

Weather will flux in the next few days and we are still waiting for sparrows like those seen down near the lake.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, January 9th.

All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.