The buffy wing bars on this Pewee tell you it’s a young bird. Adults, unlike most other long-distance migrants, won’t moult their white wing bars until they get to their wintering grounds.
When I left the house around 5:50 it was sprinkling but when I got to Ruthven it was dry. Hmmm….do I or don’t I open the nets? What the heck! I whipped around the site and opened…went out on that proverbial limb. And just as I had finished opening the last net it began to rain…and, in fact, came down pretty hard. So I whipped around and closed them all again. Three-quarters of an hour later the rain stopped. This time I sought some solace and direction from the internet. The radar showed rain to the north and clearing to the south but….I was right on the edge. What to do….What the heck! I whipped around the site and reopened.
This male Rose-breasted Grosbeak is in its 2nd year. It has moulted in its black flight feathers but not the adult black body feathers yet.
The grosbeak is just moulting in its rose-coloured breast.
Fred, a long-time resident of the banding lab took it upon himself to venture into the wider world this morning….all on his own!
For the next two hours the cloud edge was right over top of me but I didn’t get anymore rain. And eventually the cloud moved off releasing the grueling sun and humidity. There weren’t a lot of birds around and what was around was feeding up high. I ended up banding only 15 (see below).
Nancy, at Fern Hill School, had a little more rain but ended up banding more birds (with only 6 nets) – 21 (see below).
Ruthven; Banded 15:
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 House Wren
1 Veery
4 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Gray Catbird
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
2 Magnolia Warblers
2 American Redstarts
1 Ovenbird
ET’s: 44 spp.
Fern Hill School; Banded 21:
The Fern Hill banding kit spread out in the back of the Buntingmobile. -N. Furber
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
3 Black-capped Chickadees
2 Swainson’s Thrushes
5 Gray Catbirds
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Western Palm Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Cardinal
2 House Finches
2 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 30 spp.
A very drab Western Palm Warbler. -N. Furber
A real long-distance migrant: Blackpoll Warbler. -N. Furber
Rick