Howdy all,
Well, this cool front really didn't do much for us here at the banding station.
The main problem has been the wind. Yesterday, the front started to pass while
I was opening my nets. Went from zero wind to 15mph in about 2 minutes. And so
I basically had to close or keep closed most of the nets. Of the 22 net array,
we ran 7 most the day. Therefore we only caught 6 birds. On the bright side,
there were birds in the area. Not many but more than we had been seeing. Today
was much the same. The wind gusts kept us from opening all the nets, but we did
a little better. Banded 19 today with a good mix. The more "unusual" birds we
banded today included a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER and a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. We
average about 3 Blue-wings a season here, while we only average about 1
Red-bellied. Another decent capture was a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER (avg about
9 a season).
Of interesting note, many of the birds today were very fat. Always a good sign,
and also one than means they didn't travel very far last night. No matter, a
fat bird is great to see.?
Light rain has settled here on the shore, so I am not sure if it is going to
last all night or not, so tomorrow morning might be in question. Guess we'll
see.
Here are the totals for:
8/26:
American Redstart???????????? 2
Black & white Warbler??????? 2
White-eyed Vireo?????????????? 1
Yellow-breasted Chat???????? 1
TOTAL-----------------------------? 6
8/27:
American Redstart??????? ? ? ??? 9
Blue-winged Warbler??????? ? ?? 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler? 1
Black & white Warbler?????????? 2
Common Yellowthroat?????????? 1
Red-eyed Vireo???????????????????? 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher?????? 1
Carolina Chickadee?????????????? 1
Northern Cardinal????????????????? 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker??????? 1
TOTAL-------------------------------? 19
Apparently, more RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS arrived at my feeders here on the
Eastern Shore of VA NWR. The battle is ON!!!
EASTERN KINGBIRDS and BALTIMORE ORIOLES are still here in good numbers. Also
saw 2 LEAST SANDPIPERS and 8 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS (presumably) along with a
dozen "peeps" that I didn't have a scope for, but maybe Western or Semipalmated
yesterday on the Boat Ramp pond.
Cheers,
Jethro Runco
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
