Howdy All,
Yesterday was another warm and humid day here (much like August is suppose
to be) so we really didn't catch all that much. But on the bright side, we did
catch some birds and a few of those were pretty nice. Also, many of the
birds were very fat, another very good thing. Our "better" birds of the day
include a
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER and, finally, a few EASTERN KINGBIRDS. We normally don't
catch many kingbirds here, and usually its about 4-7 a season, so the 6 we
caught puts us right in the middle of an average season.
Today, it started off much better than I was expecting. Apparently, there
was a bit of a north wind last night and that got some migrants on the move.
So
when I opened nets this morning, there were actually some migrants around.
And better yet, it was calm winds! We didn't catch lots and lots of birds but
it was a nice steady mix until about 8:30. Of course, then came the 15mph
winds and basically ended the day. After the winds picked up, we could only
run
9 nets (and 6 of those are not in the greatest spots for catching birds
meaning they have a low capture rate). So we only picked up a few more birds
before we closed for the day at noon. We did however, catch our first NORTHERN
PARULA, VEERY and ACADIAN FLYCATCHER of the season. My favorite birds of the
day would be our first CANADA WARBLER (not a real common capture here) and an
adult male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (doesn't get any more sexier than that).
Talking to a few birders that are around, there was a pretty nice mix of
migrants this morning.
Also two EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES flew by the hawkwatch platform this
afternoon and there was a moderate (for this time of year) hawk flight (lots of
OSPREYS).
Totals for 8/30:
Common Yellowthroat 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Traill's Flycatcher 1 (Willow or Alder)
Eastern Kingbird 6
Northern Cardinal 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
TOTAL------------------------------ 13
8/31:
American Redstart 2
Northern Parula 1
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Canada Warbler 1
Ovenbird 1
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Traill's Flycatcher 3
Veery 1
Carolina Wren 2
TOTAL------------------------------- 15
We had a good number of visitors today, and fortunately, they mostly came
first thing this morning before the winds picked up. I am hopeful that a few
of
these migrants stick around until tomorrow, and that the wind calms down
too. It was a nice day (minus the wind) to be outside. Everyone seemed to be
enjoying the holiday weekend! Hope you all are enjoying it too!
Cheers,
Jethro Runco
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
_www.cvwo.org_ (http://www.cvwo.org)
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