Stupid Wind

The title is an inside joke but holds true for the day. Spring is right on our doorstep but the winds don't help catch birds as they cause the nets to blow about and be more noticeable to our flying friends. Still, it was not a bad day and we enjoyed having various visitors throughout the morning.

Gray Catbirds ruled the day, as expected but we also caught a Common Yellowthroat just after dawn.



One of our visitors got to release the bird. In fact, everyone who wanted to got a chance to release birds.



Shortly,, one of the 'biters' showed up. A female Northern Cardinal. We choose not to let visitors release then. Your first bid release should not be remembered as pitched really hard.



We weren't going to take a picture of a Gray Catbird since we have so many but since they were the majority today...



Charles brought his Grandson Ben out and he got to release a Gray Catbird and Carolina Wren this morning.



We know Spring is right around the corner when the Innoscence begins to bloom. There is a nice patch under Net 2 right now.



One of the major projects for the day was repositioning Net 21. It has been stretched along the bank of the river for years and has netted us some great captures.



However, it is also a place of change from storm to storm. There was a nice bank along this area for a while but even with the rainy season dropping off the water is claiming parts of the bank. Sometime soon someone might just tumble into the river gathering a bird.



So, the decision was made to cut down some small trees and pivot the net East into the Willows. It was always a thought from the beginning and now it is a reality.



Many smaller birds feed through here and once things start filling in we should get more birds before they fly over the net across the river. As hard as we tried for a new capture today this Blue-headed Vireo refused to dip low enough to receive some jewelry.



As the day began to wind down we caught a new male Northern Cardinal in Net 9. Seems there is no end to the new Cardinals as we go along.



As the trash from upstream reminds us, 'hang in there' until next week. We just need a little less wind to bring more birds into the nets.



NOTE: Time to Spring Forward! Daylight Savings time goes into effect this Sunday so don't forget to set those clocks. Especially tricky for banders and other early risers.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 13th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.