We thought the migration peak was early this year, but after the hurricaane passed, it seems like they were waiting a bit longer.
Isiasas blocked the East Coast and then soared through the Southeast and headed into New England. That opened a new path straight down Florida instead of Texas as it was before. We held off on banding Sunday, since it looked like things were blocked, and then saw an opening the following day. A few of us had the day off, so, we decided this was a good chance to get out early on a surprise Monday opportunity.
It paid off!
With a reduced crew, we set nets and waited a few minutes after sunrise before the birds began to hit. And Hit. And hit. We probably could have continued into the afternoon, but many of the crew had appointments and we decided to close as usual just after 10AM.
It still took a while longer as we began to close nets and still some birds were getting captured. We ended the day with a nice count and thought about next weekend. Which, BTW, might be a washout. Guess the Bird of the Day was our male Painted Bunting and throw in a female American Redstart.
Visit the Facebook page for images of today's captures
here.
Again, there may be another weird front on the weekend, but we do plan on being there next Sunday. Check back here for updates.
Today's Totals
| Birds Processed |
New |
Recaptured |
Total |
| Carolina Wren |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Gray Catbird |
14 |
0 |
14 |
| Ovenbird |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Northern Cardinal |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| House Wren |
5 |
0 |
5 |
| Painted Bunting |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| American Restart |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Common Yellowthroat |
12 |
1 |
13 |
| Totals |
39 |
2 |
41 |
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 18th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.
