Howdy all,
Today was the start of a four day drought here at Kiptopeke. We only banded
10 birds today and the forecast looks pretty ugly for catching birds until the
next cool front comes through at the end of the week. Of course I am forever
hopeful, but...
It was hot and muggy all morning and the birds just were not there. Not much
in the way of highlights so here's the best I could do. We caught two
OVENBIRDS on the first run of the day. One was very skinny, the other was very,
very
fat. The interesting part is the differences in their weights! The skinny one
was just 15.7 grams--very underweight. Sibley shows an average of 19.5 grams.
The other bird, the one that is ready to migrate, weighed 27.5 grams!! What a
beast!
Not a bird highlight, but still nice to see, was a Painted Lady and an
American Lady on the same bloom in the butterfly garden this morning! It was
like
having a Hairy and Downy Woodpecker on the same branch on opposite sides.
Anyway, here's the numbers for the 8/30:
Prairie Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Ovenbird 2
Field Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 1
TOTAL--------------------------------- 10 wow I know!
It would be nice if that cold front showed up early!!!
Cheers,
Jethro Runco
