A misty, warm morning that promised rain… Not the best for bird banding… Still, Tom opened the nets at 5:40am as scheduled. The first net check was delayed by a drizzle. Once that passed, we got back on schedule.
Just after the first net check, a small group arrived from Audubon to look on as Tom and J quickly processed several birds. The Cushmans from Michigan arrived shortly after that. Here are a few highlights:
Blue-winged Warbler:
And the Closeup:
Judy Releases the Warbler:
Field Sparrow Youngsters:
Linda and Judy release the sparrows:
Song Sparrow:
Tom Takes an Avian Bird Flu Sample:
Gray Catbird:
By far, the most exciting catch of the day was a new warbler for me, the Canada Warbler.
According to the Cornell All About Birds website, this bird is one of the last warblers to arrive on the breeding ground in the spring and one of the first to depart in the fall. We are in the southern part of the breeding range.
Isn’t that a pretty little bird?
Tom watched the storm approach on his Blackberry and decided to call it quits at around 9:30am. Here’s what the radar looked like by the time I got home:
The red bits of that storm blob over Cattaraugus County must have hit the banding station just moments after we were safely packed into our vehicles and heading home. As I type now, it is sunny and fine… Gotta love weather in Western New York! I’m sure if we had been able to stay, that Scarlet Tanager that was flitting around in the trees would have made it into one of our nets! Maybe next time…
Thanks, Tom, for another great day of banding! Click below for Tom’s version of the day:
http://monarchbfly.com/2008/06/28/half-a-morning-of-banding
Wow! That was fast posting! We stopped in Randolph for coffee and it just poured. Thank goodness we were inside. Then it poured again on the way to Jamestown, but when we pulled in to the Park-N-Ride, it had stopped.
I was as wet as I ever remember being, but it was a good day. What could be wrong with a day that you get to hold a gorgeous little bird in your hand? Thanks for the beautiful pictures.
What fabulous birds!!
That’s a great post Jen! All your photos are wonderful. I just love Canada Warblers! and they have such a great name LOL!
Jen, it was wonderful start of a morning! Too bad that the day didn’t work out for the rest of the day!
Great pictures Jennifer. I always love seeing the close-up shots of the birds and the feather detail. Thanks
Beautiful pictures.
As for our weather? Well, you know what they say about weather in Western New York: if you don’t like the current weather, wait five minutes, it will change.
Your bird banding reports make me want to drive to western new york and experience it. Maybe next year. Keep the posts coming, it’s the next best thing to being there.
I love the twin sparrows.
It’s always fun when you and Tom blog the same day/trip/event. I love the two points of view and extra pictures.
You are so good with the photos. I love the Gray Catbird.