May 06, 2022 – Lowville
It was a pleasantly overcast, which was a nice surprise considering the forecast was calling for a sunny day. To some, this may sound like a strange thing to be happy about, but as a bander/birder sometimes slightly inclement weather is better. For example, we tend to catch more when it’s overcast because the birds can’t see the nets as easily, plus the birds tend to stay active later into the day when it’s overcast or foggy. I was joined by Sarah to open nets, and we were treated to a gorgeous sunrise. It seemed like the weather the previous night might make for a good number of migrants arriving to our area, and that was certainly true! We had a busy first net run which produced almost half of our birds for the day. This included a few notable birds: the first Common Yellowthroat of the season, a Black-and-white Warbler, and a stunning Black-throated Blue Warbler (also first of the season). The neotropical migrants are finally starting to arrive, and we should only be seeing more of them in the near future. We are about to enter what is personally my favorite part of migration, and I’m so excited to see what the next couple weeks bring.
BANDED:
1 House Wren
6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Swamp Sparrow
11 White-throated Sparrow
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Yellow Warbler
3 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
RECAPS:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Hermit Thrush
1 American Goldfinch
1 Song Sparrow
5 White-throated Sparrow
1 Northern Cardinal
TOTAL: 36 (26 banded, 10 recaps)
Such a beautiful bird; this male Black-throated Blue Warbler was our first of the season. Although they are a fairly common migrant in our area, they are always a treat to catch. You can see that little white patch on his wing which is a diagnostic ID feature for the species. The male is easy enough to identify but this feature can be very helpful in identifying female Black-throated Blue Warblers in the field since they don’t have the bright blue plumage that the male does.
A beautiful male Common Yellowthroat. A common breeder at our site, this was our first of the year. Nice to see them back!
Yellow Warbler – another season first
Yellow Warblers are one of very few warblers to have yellow in their tail – many of the other warblers we get have white in their outer tail feathers. One of the only others we would see in our area to have any yellow in the tail would be female/young male American Redstarts.
Fern fiddleheads are emerging