A Nice Wrap to February

We lost the first two weeks of February to rain, but we made up for things the remaining 2 weeks to give us hopes for the returning Spring Migration.

Gray Catbirds were quieter than last week, but they started the day off at dawn.



Next up, a male Northern Cardinal.



The next Gray Catbird showed up shortly afterward.



We began to capture Yellow-rumped Warblers in thier expected areas closer to the lake today. Most of them were juveniles.



Down at Connie's garden, she found a Cloudless Sulfur Caterpillar on her Cassia plant. As she calls it: Bird food.



An almost unexpected Hermit Thrush was captured in Net 3. Surpisingly, it was juvenile that was unbanded.



We had two new Gray Catbirds and two recaptures. The recaps were Wintering birds banded not too long ago and are staying over until Spring.



Yellow-rumped Warblers gain white spots on their tail feathers as they age. This bird is showing it was hatched last year and molting into an true adult stage with 2 1/2 spots. By the time they are full adults, they will have 5 full spots across the tail.



Saúl brought in a new bird for him as the winds picked up. It was a juvenile Brown Thrasher in Net 15 which is where our locals seem to prefer for raising new broods every year.



Our last Northern Cardinal of the morning.



Our final bird of the day was a very fiesty Eastern Phoebe. Hard to catch, especially with the increasing winds.



We ended the day picking out dozens and dozens of 'leaf birds' as we closed up to end the morning.

We were sad to miss the first weeks of the month but glad to have had a strong last two weeks to end the month. Typically, we have about 4 birds a week in February. 16 and 13 made up for the off days. Now we head toward the Spring migration.

A couple of fronts are headed this way and it looks like Saturday will be full of showers. Hopefully, they will not bleed into Sunday. Check back by late Saturday or very early Sunday to see if we have to take Sunday off. Spring is right around the corner and we are looking forward to a nice few months of migrants towards the start of our Summer break.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	2	2	4
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Yellow-rumped Warbler	4	0	4
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Totals	10	3	13

NOTE: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and the general public, new visitors are discouraged from attending banding at this time. The few of us who remain will update the blog as long as we can and hope to see new faces in the future. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 7th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Migration Starting Early?

Weather kept us sleeping in for the last two weeks, but we were finally able to get back out for an interesting day on the property. Interesting, indeed.

The most interesting mystery of the morning began as Andrew was setting nets before dawn and he noticed that one of our Cedar trees planted by Richard years ago was...broken. Photos were taken later in the day once the light was available.



This nearly 20 foot tall tree was the only one of three that has had berries on it over the past couple of years and was now shattered down the trunk. But where was the top? Nearly 15 yards away near Net 9!

This shot is from the severed top looking back toward the tree. Susan wondered if a bear broke it off. That would be odd for a bear to then take the top all the way over there. Connie wondered if it was some straight line wind event. Andrew thinks it was a lightning strike from the storm that rolled through two days before since the trunk seems blown out to the ground. What say you?



We mentioned the last time out that the Catbirds were seeming to be restless. Today, it was even more evident. We captured 7 during the morning and saw a couple more escape the nets along the way..



Here, Jenny and Tom record the last few of the day.



Northern Cardinals are getting active, too, as they begin to prepare for mating. Two males were chasing one another and hit the same net. First up was a recapture.



Next up was a new rival.



We then recaptuered a Tufted Titmouse first banded 2 and a half years ago. Still healthy and angry as they always are.



As the winds picked up, we captured 4 Myrtle Warblers, a sub-species of the Yellow-rumped Warbler, in Net 2. Typically, we get these birds closer to lake where they feed around the willows. This was up near the pines. Odd. Soon afterwards, Andrew trekked through the woods and noticed many Yellow-rumps there. Perhaps the winds kept the insects localized and brought them into this area.

All four of these birds were juveniles, mostly females.



Just before we closed up for the day, two more were captured, again in Net 2! This time, they were males. One was very 'bright' and changing into alternate plumage for the mating season.



The last processed bird was a juvenile male starting his first transition into maturity.



We have been missing banding Yellow-rumps for quite some time. Records show that they have been uncaptured for just under three years. We use to capture them regularly every year before that.

This is the busiest February day we have had for a long time and the NEXRAD radars are showing signs that migration is ramping up as birds begin to head North. Seems a bit early. Lets see what next Sunday brings...

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	4	3	7
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Tufted Titmouse	0	1	1
Yellow-rumped Warbler	6	0	6
Totals	11	5	16

NOTE: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and the general public, new visitors are discouraged from attending banding at this time. The few of us who remain will update the blog as long as we can and hope to see new faces in the future. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 28th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Time for Love...Banding: Not so Much

Nature doesn't want to play nice. I have been monitoring several weather outlets and they all point to rain and thunder for tomorrow. Sleep in, hopefully with the one you love on Valentine's Day, and we will try again next week.

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 21st.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.