A foreboding sky….that produced no precipitation. -DOL
News has become marketable and very lucrative. If there’s a preposterous story line that captures peoples’ fancy to the point that they’ll watch the tube as it plays out then there’s money to be made. The more viewers, the more advertising to entice them; the more advertising, the more money to be made. In some ways it’s a shame that there’s no advertisement-free station that doesn’t depend on advertising. It seems to me that, although it’s taken them awhile, weather stations have gone the same route. You can get all-day weather with all kinds of dire warnings and “alerts”. And there’s a tendency to keep tuning in to see just how bad it will get and where. And, to be frank, it’s become a pain in the ass. Especially when you have to decide whether to travel to the banding station and suggest to enthusiastic volunteers that perhaps they might not want to make the trip because the forecast says……
This morning was a case in point. An “80% chance of rain” was predicted for the area starting at 6:00 and running through the morning. If I took it at face value I would have stayed in bed. But I’ve learned that an “80% chance of rain” can mean anything from a deluge to partial sunshine and NO rain. So my strategy is to walk outside in the dark right after I get up, put my hand out, and if it gets soaked I will call listed volunteers to let them know it might not be worthwhile or, if they’re coming from a distance, not to chance it.
Maggie with a male Eastern Bluebird. DOL
This morning I was delighted to be joined by Maggie whom I haven’t seen for some time. A delightful young woman with wonderful life plans and a skilled bander. I’m glad I didn’t go with the forecast!
Attesting to her skill, Maggie extracted this female Northern Cardinal without suffering its clamping bite on her fingers. MRM
Small bird movement was starting to show with Myrtle Warblers working their way through the trees (high enough to avoid the nets) and I heard the first Common Yellowthroat of the year. Tree Swallows have moved past just trying to survive and are involved in energetic chases to claim nest boxes and mates. Four (2 males and 2 females) were involved in a chase and piled into net #9.
One of the four Tree Swallows that piled into Net 9. MRM
We recaptured a male Eastern Bluebird. It looked to be in fine shape but when checking for fat we noticed a large (1.5 cm) lump on its lower right abdomen. Would love to know what was causing this…tumour? Otherwise the bird acted normally and didn’t seem impaired.
Large growth on the abdomen of the bluebird. DOL
Banded 14:
4 Tree Swallows
1 Dark-eyed Junco
3 Swamp Sparrows
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
Red-winged Blackbirds, because they’re so common perhaps, seem to be taken for granted. But they’re colouration is dazzling. MRM
4 Common Grackles
ET’s: 37 spp.
Rick