At least there wasn’t any rain today. We were able to open at dawn and stay open until noon, despite increasing windiness throughout the morning. It was not a very busy day which indicates to me that many of the females are sitting on nests and males are busy feeding the mom’s and those babies already hatched.
We had a total of 28 individuals captured of ten species, of which 20 were new birds, six were recaptures and two were unbanded. The unbanded birds were a Wood Thrush and a Tufted Titmouse that got away before we could get them out of the net. It was a notable day in that we only had one Gray Catbird! I didn't even think that was possible. As a consolation though, five feet from the end of net 1 we found a catbird nest with four babies in it. One look and you can tell how crowded that place is going to be in about two weeks.
We caught a female American Redstart.
This is exciting because she was exhibiting a brood patch meaning she is sitting on a nest. This is only the fourth redstart we’ve captured during this study and the first confirmation at this site of a redstart in breeding condition. There is nothing unusual about having a redstart here as they are a very common breeding bird locally. We just haven’t had many residing at this site and, up until now, none that we could confirm as breeding. This photo nicely shows the rictal bristles around the bill that they use to assist in flycatching.
We also caught a Least Flycatcher.
This is only the third Least Flycatcher we’ve caught during this study. One the first year in ’04, one earlier this spring and today. Again, a fairly common breeding bird locally, just not very common here. This was a male in breeding condition. However, that only provides us with a probable breeder designation. It takes a female in breeding condition to elevate the species to confirmed status!
We had several birds show up as pairs in the nets together or on consecutive net runs. A pair of cardinals including a female recapture who was originally banded last year. A pair of Song Sparrows whose recaptured male was originally banded in ‘08. A pair of Common Yellowthroats, and a pair of Yellow Warblers. Here's the female:
and here's the male:
But the day’s champs were a pair of Black-capped Chickadees along with three of their fledglings, which were the first babies captured this summer. They were all in the same net, working themselves into a tizzy until we finally got them out. And the female was a recapture, originally banded in ’07 and caught in the same net then as today. She and the father had already begun their pre-basic molt which will replace all of their body and flight feathers. You can see the emerging primaries (the 3rd, 4th, and 5th feather after the finger) in her wing in this photo.
Here’s the catch:
Least Flycatcher 1 N,
Black-capped Chickadee 8 N, 1 R
Tufted Titmouse 1 N, 1 R, 1 U
Wood Thrush 1 N, 1 U
Gray Catbird 1 R
Yellow Warbler 2 N
American Redstart 1 N
Common Yellowthroat 2 N
Song Sparrow 3 N, 2 R
Northern Cardinal 1 N, 1 R
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