Friday, June 5, 2009

Slow days of summer...

It is June! This is a time when you think more of breeding birds than migrants. However, some are still heading north for the quick opportunity to breed and turn around and return south again. Some of those include the Mourning and Wilson’s Warblers we caught today. Migration is definitely winding down with mostly second year females. Thirty-four new birds were netted for the day with 15 recaptures.

Highlights for the day include a Cedar Waxwing and several Mourning Warblers one of which was a male (no kidding! He is not in a hurry, apparently…).

Top 4 species:
Red-winged Blackbird – 9
Mourning Warbler – 3
Yellow Warbler – 3 (one of which had considerable amount of fat reserves)
Traill’s Flycatcher – 3

The numbers are telling that the season is coming to a close. It sure was a great one for all to experience. Here is a quiz bird for you:
Here is the front view: Do you see any resemblance to the thrush family? This is a hatching year American Robin.

Did you know you can tell male from female Cedar Waxwing by whether or not it has a black beard or not? This one is female with a brown throat. Cedar Waxwings are such sleek looking birds!
Enjoy the birds in your yard!

No comments:

Post a Comment