Soutwest winds continue to bring first wave birds...

Another southwest wind but stronger than yesterday. There were birds hopping, flying, and singing all over the place today. When the wind picked up to 30 mph it became hard to hear the songs and once again the efficiency of the nets was lower because of the wind.

A Kentucky Warbler was the highlight overflight warbler. Gray-cheeked Thrushes appeared today. Their cousin the Swainson’s Thrush tried to vie for the lead thrush today which they won over the Hermit Thrush numbers. Other highlights were another American Tree Sparrow still around and a favorite, the Chestnut-sided Warbler.

One hundred seventy-three species with 10 recaptures were netted involving 35 species. Fourteen warbler species banded with an additional 3 species heard or seen on the beach ridge. Ninety-two species were observed in the Navarre Marsh.

After a busy day of six hours of netting we began training a new set of volunteers to assist with the project. Besides new volunteer training, we also have a workshop to review project procedures before the season starts with past volunteers. I call them seasoned volunteers! This gets everyone up to speed and ready for days like today.

Another prize today was a female Hooded Warbler. Notice how large her beak is compared to her head. This is a drastic difference from any other “yellow” warbler.

A Black-and-White Warbler is always nice to see. Here you can see that it looks mighty fine even with its retained primary coverts. The dull brown coverts tell us that it is a second-year bird—hatched last summer.

Top 7 species:

Myrtle Warbler - 45

White-throated Sparrow - 22

Nashville Warbler - 13

Swainson's Thrush - 12

Yellow Warbler - 11

Hermit Thrush - 9

Western Palm Warbler - 8

Another southwest wind for tomorrow, so look out we are getting a special treat!
Enjoy the season!

The first wave of migrant songbirds has hit the region

If I was a betting person, I would have put some money on this being a good day! I should have said a Great Day! For a day in April I am sure it broke some records for bird species for some people’s list. Southwest winds kicked up throughout the day and you would have thought it was Christmas in April! The wind did curtail the effectiveness of the mist net. With the net stretched out from the wind, I saw many a birds bounce out of the net. Despite the wind we spent 6 hours monitoring migration capturing 327 new birds and 13 recaptures. Thirty-nine species of bird were netted including 13 species of warbler. Worm-eating Warbler was seen on the beach ridge.

It is obvious that the first wave of migrants were here. Dominant species of Hermit Thrush, Myrtle Warbler males, Ruby-crowned Kinglet males, White-throated Sparrows, and the subdominants including Nashville Warbler and Western Palm Warbler. Both tanagers were heard with us lucky to catch a Scarlet Tanager male. Boy, did he glow!

One of the unusual birds was this quiz bird. It is unusual because it is a female. It was the first day for this species on the site and it happened to be a female.

Another highlight is the Great Crested Flycatcher—notice its great crest and it big mouth to catch insects.

Top six species:
White-throated Sparrow – 87
Myrtle Warbler – 84
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 45
Hermit Thrush – 21
Chipping Sparrow – 9
Ovenbird – 7

Another big day planned for tomorrow if the winds would calm down a bit!
Enjoy!.....Quizbird is Tennessee Warbler-subdominant of the second wave.

High pressure system has birds at a standstill

High pressure system overhead producing light lake winds today. The morning started off with several singing Winter Wrens which made the sunrise even more enjoyable! Such energy, endurance, and enthusiasm they portray.

I would say the best bird today aside from the 4 Winter Wrens (2 recaptures) we captured was the male Tree Swallow. Such a beautiful bird!

In five and one half hours 50 new birds were captured with an additional 30 recaptures. There were still a couple Fox Sparrows and Golden-crowned Kinglets hanging around. It won’t be much longer and they will be out of here! We don’t catch many American Goldfinches along the lake but it is a pleasant surprise when we do. They often fly over but do not come down to the ground. I noticed the attractive undertail pattern of this male today. It was a second-year bird but sure had a lot of white on its tail.

Top 4 species were:
Hermit Thrush – 12
Myrtle Warbler – 7
White-throated Sparrow – 4
Song Sparrow – 4

Tomorrow will be a good day—winds to turn to the southwest tonight.
Enjoy!