Female Black & White Warbler on the left (note the buff in the face, chest and flanks) and a male on the right (no buff).
-E. Gosnell
Some like it hot…..I’m not one of those people. Unless, of course, it’s a real dry heat like you experience in Kenya – so dry that you have to urinate only once a day (maybe that’s too much information?). Today it was just oppressive – heat and humidity. Now remember: I’ve spent most of the summer on the east coast; Newfoundland was getting record lows through July when I was out on the ships. And the highs in Grand Manan were in the high teens. So 29 degrees with high humidity just does me in.
Plumage detail of the male Black & White Warbler. -E. Gosnell
Black & White Warblers are truly handsome birds. This is a male. -E. Gosnell
But….the migrants seem to like it. In fact, this morning they waited until it heated up before they made their way into the nets! The first couple of net rounds were mediocre at best but once the sun had started to work and temperatures began to rise we had a round of 37 birds. The heat probably had them thinking about their homes in the tropics.
Female Blue-winged Warbler on the left; male on the right. The male is much brighter with a black rather than a gray streak through the eye. -E. Gonsell.
Vireos made up 26% of the catch and warblers 44%. So, despite the heat, it was a very pleasant morning.
Young male Nashville Warbler. -E. Gosnell
Banded 52:
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
2 Black-capped Chickadees
2 House Wrens
4 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Gray Catbird
3 Warbling Vireos
11 Red-eyed Vireos
3 Blue-winged Warblers
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Yellow Warbler
4 Chestnut-sided Warblers
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
3 Bay-breasted Warblers
3 Black & White Warblers
4 Ovenbirds
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Scarlet Tanager
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Indigo Buntings
1 American Goldfinch
ET’s: 47 spp.
Rick