It was a beautiful day: blue skies, cool in the wind but warm in the sunshine. The sort of day that had us talking about the need for a rocking chair on the porch but, maybe even better, a hammock swinging in the trees.

I was sitting at the picnic table content to watch others working when out of the corner of my eye I spotted Sarah galloping through the wetland toward the UG net (#6, University of Guelph net). Mud and water splashing didn’t seem to be a deterrent so I knew it had to be something special…and so it was! Our very first Belted Kingfisher!! What a marvellous bird in the hand. Sarah did the honours and got a verry nice addition to her burgeoning banding list – and deserved it after plunging through the elements to get it before it could get out of the net. This capture provided a great opportunity to study the bird up close. We figured it was an older (ASY – After Second Year) female.

“New” migrants still weren’t obvious today although there seems to have been a moderate influx of Swamp Sparrows in the night. Otherwise it was same old same old….
Banded 15:
1 Belted Kingfisher
2 Swamp Sparrows
8 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 Common Grackles
ET’s: 43 spp.

Rick