Today we caught a hatching year (HY) Brown Thasher. It is most likely a local bird, but since it could fly it was called a hatching year bird instead of local since it could have flown some distance before we captured it in the net. 
Note the HY bird has a gray eye versus the bright yellow eye of the adult.
Hatching year birds in summer have loose-textured undertail coverts like this one: 
Last night there was a southerly wind and we had some movement of flycatchers and Magnolia Warblers overnight. Another prize was this male American Woodcock. See how the eyes are set on the head that it can see in all directions including up top. I showed this earlier but I still think it is neat to see.
Check out the Spring Banding numbers at www.bsbobird.org/passerine/spring_passerine_migration_monitoring.htm
Enjoy the last days of spring migration... Have you heard any Yellow-billed or Black-billed Cuckoos? And enjoy the songs and sights of summer!
Many Thanks to all the service men and women who have fought for our freedom and those that are doing it for us today!
It was pretty cool to see and volunteer Jeanine thought so too!
An interesting thing about owls is that the leading edge of their flight feathers lack barbules to zip the feathers together or hold them together. This allows them to fly silently through the air.
Most Great Crested Flycatchers you cannot age past after-hatch year but the condition of the primary coverts on this bird allows us to call it a second-year bird.
Take time to enjoy the late spring migrants!
Special opportunities like this are one of the great benefits of being an Observatory member!
One hundred sixty-eight new birds today with 40 recaptures. Some of the birds from yesterday did not move on. Twenty-two species of warbler were seen or heard on site. Not a bad number of species for this time of the month.
Now you can see the black bill. Black-billed Cuckoo. However, you do not need to see the bill to ID this as a Black-billed Cuckoo. It has a red eye ring and long tail and wings, and the wings are the same color as the back and tail. If the wings were reddish-brown contrasting with the brown body it would be a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and they have a yellow eye ring. No need to look at the size of spots on the tail. The other field marks tell more than the tail spots.
The winds are to be south so make a good attempt to get outside this weekend!
Nineteen warblers were seen or heard on the beach ridge today including: Tennessee, Nashville, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Mourning, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's, and Canada.
The black necklace on the chest is reduced in size as well. 
A word of caution if you only use the amount of speckling on the chest for identifying it as a second-year male since adult females can have some black feathers in their necklace.
A mighty spiffy looking After-second year male OROR (Orchard Oriole). A second-year male would be green where this one is burnt orange.
Quiz picture #1 (I have to give you different angles---maybe you can get them correct with the back view)
Twenty-four warbler species were heard or seen on site including: Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Northern Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Myrtle, Black-throated Green, Chipe de Garganta Naranja, Western Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Mourning, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's, and Canada.
Take a look at this mature female Black-throated Blue Warbler. She is so mature she is getting some black on her throat.
The best warbler ever is the Blackburnian Warbler also known as "Cheeto head" in my book. This is why:
(see any resemblance to the color of a Cheeto? Male Blackburnian Warblers look like their head has been stuck in a Cheeto bag don't they?)
Twenty-seven warblers were seen or heard at the station including Blue-winged, Tennessee, Nashville, Northern Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Myrtle, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Prairie, Western Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Connecticut, Mourning, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, Wilson's, and Canada.
Female Northern Parula. Note the green triangle on the back and the bi-colored beak. Beautiful Bird!
Have a good Saturday!
The same species were dominant that have been for the past few days with Nashville Warbler and Yellow Warblers taking the lead. Nineteen species of warbler were seen or heard on site today including Tennessee, Nashville, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Myrtle, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Western Palm, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, and Canada.
Winds are to be southwest overnight; so tomorrow is looking like a day to be out early to enjoy the second wave of songbirds.
Let's Hear it for the GIRLS!
She is beautiful from the back as well!
It has no black pattern to the tail and it has dark brown feathers on the wings as opposed to having any black feathers on the wing. It is a tough call from a distance to tell the sex of this bird and sometimes differentiating between dark brown and black on the wing is not easy either. 
I have seen similar dilemmas with winter plumaged American Goldfinches with black wing feathers versus brown wings on females.