August 26th & 27th – Summer’s Winding Down

The Old Bag…..ers in action. -S. Ford

Weatherwise it was a beautiful weekend. Drats! Unsettled weather is so much more satisfying from a banding perspective. It brings the migrants down and our catches are so much more productive. Oh well…..

On Saturday we managed to get the Old Bags…ers group up and going. This group funtions in a similar fashion to the young Baggers group – separate net lanes, banding stations, etc. – but is made up of more….mature individuals. The intent is to give keenly interested people more opportunity to learn how to run nets and band without affecting the standardized operation. The nucleus of the group cut its first net lane, set up a net, and caught its first bird. Just the tip of the iceberg.

Marnie with a Bobolink – pondering the possibility that it came from the big field next to her place of work. -R. Camasta

Generally, banding was slow for these two days but we did manage to get some interesting birds. Things are on the move, just not in any rush…..especially today (27th); we encountered only 38 species throughout the day.

August 26th, Banded 28:
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Traill’s Flycatcher
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Black-capped Chickadee
3 House Wrens
1 American Robin