Today was surprisingly slow given the time of year and the weather. It was slightly overcast at dawn with no wind and the station sounded birdy with lots of singing and movement all around. However, they weren’t moving into the nets. We had 13 total individuals of nine species of which ten were new, two were recaptures and one was unbanded.
We were surprised by a very early migrant Swainson’s Thrush (an AHY male). We’ve only caught two of these during the summer in previous years, one on 28 May (a late spring migrant) and one on 6 August. At my station in Vestaburg (Alma College Ecological Station) I’ve caught a total of six summer Swainson’s Thrush. The earliest was 19, July. Most of the rest were in early August. Swainson’s Thrush nest as near as the next county north (Gladwin) so it isn’t unusual that we would see the occasional early migrant.
We had our second ruby-throated hummingbird of the summer, another breeding female. Here we have one of my assistants helping me with her release.
Molt is the name of the game this time of year and most of the adult birds we caught were exhibiting fairly extensive body and flight feather molt. This Ovenbird is pretty representative of the disheveled state many of our songbirds are in right now.
Finally, these two Common Grackles, while common, are also remarkably striking birds up close. Especially the male’s iridescence.
Here is the catch:
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 U
Black-capped Chickadee 1 N
Swainson’s Thrush 1 N
American Robin 1 N
Gray Catbird 3 N
Ovenbird 1 N
Song Sparrow 2 R
Common Grackle 2 N
American Goldfinch 1 N
Our next day at CNC will be next Thursday (7/29).
Hope to see you out there.
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