Migration Seems to be Turning

The weather is still up and down but we headed out and wondered what we might catch today. For the first time in a long time we had nearly no wind in the area. Unfortunately, that seemed to lead to the most warblers staying out in the willows or way up in the tree tops. We still had a nice selection after the day was complete. A nice example was a Yellow-rumped Warbler caught at a low level early on.



A sure sign of the migration taking a turn was the capture of a previously banded Ovenbird. They have been absent for a while.



Here, Becki holds up the bird for a shot before we get all the data down.



We soon caught a second Ovenbird so they do seem to be on the move.



It was slow and steady out at the site but it was nice to get a Western Palm Warbler molting into Spring plumage as the day wore on.



It had been quite a while since we have captured a Northern Parula so it was nice to get this female today.



Northern Parula breed in the park and by Earth Day next month the trees will be full of fledglings calling to the parents all over the place. Our newest volunteer, Phyllis got a nice shot of the bird before releasing it.



Later, the Barred Owl pair was spotted by Bob and they stayed along the edge of the river for quite a while.



Common Yellowthroat were seen all over near the end of the net lanes today and we managed to get one of them before the day was through. This adult female was a nice addition to the tally for the morning. They should become much more active as the weeks go by. Many males were seen and heard today.



Richard brought out the ladder to check the nest boxes we have set up and, as usual, there are many Flying Squirrels taking up the places where we would rather have birds nesting.



We are off next Sunday for Spring Break but will hopefully be back out for the next round while Spring Migration takes hold.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 31st.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.