No Banding December 29th

Storms in the forecast. And I need sleep...

Permit is extended through 2028. More work to do.

Happy New Year!

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 5th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Odd Day

There can be mornings where we will catch birds all in the first couple of hours or have them spread out throughout the morning. Today was odd as we had half our birds right at dawn and then the other half as we were preparing to close up.

The other odd thing was that the first half of birds were all recaptures, like the 3 Carolina Wrens we processed.



Two recap Northern Cardinals joined the tally.



Then a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



The juvenile White-eyed Vireo that we first banded last week decided to drop in for another visit.



Then things grew way too quiet for the next 2 plus hours until, out at the newly placed Net 26 near the lake, a female Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler joined the crew.



Next, we got a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



Just as we were preparing to close up, a family of Tufted Titmice swarmed Net 15 and 3 were brought in. There was one recaptured and two new birds.



So, fun then boring then fun. Never know how these Winter weekends will go. We do plan to be out next Sunday but there is a chance we could get rained out. Be sure to check the blog before you decide to join us on the 29th.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Tufted Titmouse	2	1	3
Northern Cardinal	0	2	2
Hermit Thrush	0	1	1
Yellow-rump (Myrtle) Warbler	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Totals	4	8	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 29th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Picked up Before Christmas.

A little busier today. Hope it stays that way since this is going to be the first December we can band all Sundays since the holidays happen in the middle of the week.

Our first bird was a recaptured Northern Cardinal. In the poor light it was difficult to read the band numbers. We all need new glasses...



We caught a couple of Hermit Thrushes today.



Eastern Phoebes were very active this morning. We ended up with three of them.



A fiesty male Common Yellowthroat was next. He kept nipping at fingers and trying to get the camera lenses.



It has been a while since we have had a White-eyed Vireo. This one is a juvenile. You can tell because the iris is not white yet.



House Wrens are moving around a little more right now.



We caught Carolina Wrens, too.



Two Yellow-rumped Warblers were chasing one another near the lake and both were caught. One was a bird we banded just last week.



Andrew decided to set a new net closer to the lake along the river. It was not long before we caught a Swamp Sparrow. A bit later we also had one of the 3 Phoebes.



Now that the new net will be up the same time as the others at dawn, hopefully we can get even more birds out by the lake.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
House Wren	1	0	1
Eastern Phoebe	3	0	3
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Hermit Thrush	2	0	2
Yellow-rump (Myrtle) Warbler	1	1	2
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Swamp Sparrow	1	0	1
Common Yellow-throat	1	0	1
Totals	11	3	14

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Back After Our Unexpected Delay

We were finally able to get back out and band again. This time of year is fairly quiet and instead of getting most of our birds right after dawn, they were spread out until the end.

Our first bird of the day was a recaptured Carolina Wren. We caught another unbaded one later in the morning.



Then we got our first migrant, a new Hermit Thrush.



Next, a female Northern Cardinal



Mid-morning, we captured a House Wren.



The ladies were checking nets and saw what they thought was a leaf in one. Nope. A female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



As we were closing nets, we captured two more migrants. A male Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle sub-species)...



...and a Western Palm Warbler.



Hearing other species around the property so perhaps next Sunday we can get some of them. Flicker would be nice...

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
House Wren	1	0	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Yellow-rump (Myrtle)Warbler	1	0	1
Western Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	7	1	8

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.