Things looked like we would have a big number of birds today as we caught 3 right out of the first walks. Our first bird was a recaptured male Northern Cardinal banded last Summer. It was a juvenile then and is now full on adult.
Next up was a recaptured Ovenbird first banded last Winter.
Phyllis brought in a new Hermit Thrush soon afterwards. It was a new capture.
It was recorded as a Second Year bird (meaning it was born last year) and we had a good clue for that. Juvenile thrushes retain tan edges on their secondary coverts until they molt in the late Spring to solid browns.
We spent most of the remainder of the morning walking the lanes and observing Nature until nearly the end of the day when we caught our last birds.
Lisa has been with us for many months and joined us with the hopes of learning to band some birds along with other trainees. Today, she got to give it a go. Learning to hold birds correctly for banding is a learned skill and one needs to actually do it to know it. Practice is key.
Lisa has always been fearless when releasing Northern Cardinals that will bite. And bite. And bite. Shannen and Andrew both got snipped while getting this lady out of the net. Lisa got to safely band and release her.
The final bird of the morning was also banded by Lisa. A juvenile Gray Catbird.
Still planning on banding next Sunday. Could be a bit hot but migration should be ramping up. We hope.
Oh, yeah! It is 'COVID'! Stay clean!!!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 22th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.
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