Howdy all,
Today was a bit of an interesting day at the banding station. We started the
day by catching not one, but two NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS. One was new, the
other a recapture. And it only got better. The next net run we caught an
extremely late GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH. And it still got better! At 8:15 we caught
two
EASTERN BLUEBIRDS! A common migrant down the eastern shore, just not a common
capture here. Since 1963, only 3 have been banded here! The last 2 coming in
1999. So I was way excited! We even got both sexes.
To say the least, it was a nice day. We even banded over 200 birds today, a
not so common number for the banding station when Nov. rolls around. Seems
about time we started catching birds!
Also had our first AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES of the season here.
Totals for 11/8:
Brown Creeper 1
American Goldfinch 9 first of the season
Yellow-rumped Warbler 162
Palm Warbler 5 all westerns
Field Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 1
White-thr. Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 13
Slate-colored Junco 1
House Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 2 first for the season and
rare catch here
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1 way late
American Robin 1
Hermit Thrush 6
Northern Saw-whet Owl 1 second of the season
TOTAL ------------------------------ 216
Not sure what to expect the next few days, but I hope it involves birds!!
Cheers,
Jethro Runco
Kiptopeke, VA on the Eastern Shore
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
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