Wednesday, May 13, 2009

A surprise of a Winter Wren and a Hermit Thrush

Can you guess what kind of day it will be when you catch a Winter Wren and a Hermit Thrush? Yes, we were wondering why these slow birds were here. Slow to move north, meaning we have not seen a Winter Wren in 10 days and Hermits for several days. There are those that lag behind the others. Maybe they will help someone’s big day list and put their team in the lead!

The southeast winds improved our catch of new birds versus banded birds. Two hundred eighty-two new birds netted including 66 recaptures. Twenty-four warbler species were banded or observed on site. Those were Blue-winged, Tennessee, Nashville, Northern Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Myrtle, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Western Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Mourning, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson’s, and Canada. Magnolia Warblers are increasing in numbers. Maybe tomorrow they will drip from the trees if the winds don’t blow as much as the weather people say. They are predicting 20 plus miles per hour. It will be breezy out of the SW they say. So hold onto your hat!

Highlights for the day were seven Great Crested Flycatchers, a pair of Scarlet Tanagers, and a female Hairy Woodpecker. This year has been a banner year for birds and because of that we have surpassed the spring total of Western Palm Warblers for spring with a total of 290 to date.

What is this bird from the back?

Top 7 species:
Magnolia Warbler – 38
Gray Catbird – 35
Yellow Warbler – 28
American Redstart – 13
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 10
Swainson’s Thrush – 10
Veery – 9

Tomorrow should be a good day. It is hard to predict the extent of the bird movement because a cold front is following short after the warm front overnight. We shall see!

This is the front view---nice! (Rose-breasted Grosbeak)
AND now for the quiz bird of the day:

Have a good day!
(female Cape May Warbler)

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