Banding at the Vestaburg Station: June 3, 6, 13 and 20

OK, I'm just going to try to get caught up all in one go.  After returning from Ecuador at the end of May it was totally nuts getting ready for the summer field season.  As usual, we are doing our normal breeding bird banding study as well as our Veery foraging studies.  However, it has been difficult capturing Veery this summer and as of today we have only caught one banded male.

Here are the tallies for the banding days we've completed so far:

June 3 we opened the nets around the bog in an effort to capture as many Veery as possible to radio-tag.  In the ten bog nets we had a total of 14 birds captured of eight different species.  Of these eight were new birds, three were recaps, and three were unbanded (and none were Veery!).

Our two recaptures, a Black-capped Chickadee and a Gray Catbird, were originally banded in '10 and '09.  Both were HY birds when they were caught.  I guess they liked it so much here they stayed, in the case of the chickadee, and returned, in the case of the catbird.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  3 U
Downy Woodpecker  1 N
Eastern Wood-pewee  1 N
Blue Jay  1 N
Black-capped Chickadee 1 R
American Robin  3 N
Gray Catbird  1 N,  2 R
Northern Waterthrush  1 N

June 6 we ran the eight forest nets and also used audio playback at selected bog nets to try and attract Veery.   We had a total of 13 captures of seven species of which 10 were new, one was a recapture (our first Veery!) and two were unbanded.  Unfortunately, while attempting to affix the transmitter to our Veery, Señor Butterfingers (that would be me) bobbled the bird and it escaped.  I'm sure this really impressed my students.  The Veery was originally banded in '07 as an AHY bird.  So, this individual was at least five years old.

The Eastern Phoebes that nest on the porch are back and had three young that were old enough to band.  So we took this opportunity to band them.

While Downy Woodpeckers are one of the most common woodpeckers they are still attractive little birds.

These two American Robins demonstrate the difference in body plumage of an ASY male and an SY male.  The top image is of an After Second Year male, showing the very black head and strong rufous breast, sides and belly.  The bottom image is of a Second Year male with a much duller head and weaker rufous underneath.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  2 U
Downy Woodpecker  1 N
Eastern Phoebe  3 N
Black-capped Chickadee  2 N
Veery  1 R
Wood Thrush  1 N
American Robin  3 N

June 13 we ran the eleven field nets and also continued to audio-lure around the bog.  We had a total of 22 individuals of 13 species of which 19 were new, three were recaptures, and none were unbanded.  Once again we managed to recapture the same Veery we had trapped the previous week.  And once again, just as I had attached the transmitter, the bird struggled and left me holding two of it tail feathers with the transmitter while it flitted off into the bog.  Veery - 2, Bishop - 0.

The Nashville Warbler was welcome as they are an intermittent breeder in the bog.  This Indigo Bunting was welcome, because any bird this pretty should always be appreciated!  This is a second year male, notice the brown coverts on the upper wing and the brown secondaries and tertials among the flight feathers.

And here's a photo of the Northern Flicker we caught just 'cause they're so darned good lookin'!  Arguably the handsomest woodpecker in North America.

The recaptures included a four year old Hairy Woodpecker, an at least two year old Wood Thrush and a one year old Chickadee.  In this photo of the Hairy Woodpecker, you can see the retained primary coverts (the feathers covering the tops of the outer flight feathers).  Looking carefully you can see that they appear dull brownish-black in contrast to the more jet black primary coverts to the left.

By themselves these wouldn't allow me to narrow down the age of this bird, but coupled with the fact that all of the primaries, secondaries and secondary coverts are fresh and black tells me that the bird is at least an after second year.  However, because it was banded I can do that one better.  And that, my friends, is why we band.

Hairy Woodpecker  1 R
Northern Flicker  1 N
Blue Jay  2 N
Black-capped Chickadee 1 N,  1 R
Tufted Titmouse  1 N
Veery  1 R
Wood Thrush  2 N,  1 R
American Robin  5 N
Gray Catbird  2 N
Nashville Warbler  1 N
Scarlet Tanager  1 N
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  2 N
Indigo Bunting  1 N

June 20 we opened the bog nets as well as the forest nets, 18 nets in all.  We caught a total of 17 individuals of 12 species, of which 16 were new and one was unbanded.  By mid-morning we were continuing with our no-veery streak.  So, in order for my students to have something to do we radio-tagged a Wood Thrush.  Since we are trying out a new protocol in order to get more accurate locations of our birds, this will allow Emily and Morgan to identify and work out some of the snags and hopefully, before the breeding season ends we will have some Veery tagged.

The female Baltimore Oriole is the first one I've captured at the bog with a brood patch.

They nest here every year and every year we catch many of the young birds later in the summer after they've fledged.  They show up in the bog in large numbers for the abundant blueberries and huckleberries.  However, earlier in the season we don't catch many at all, primarily because they spend all of their time in the tree tops.

This Red-eyed Vireo nicely displays why it is so named.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1 U
Downy Woodpecker  1 N
Hairy Woodpecker  1 N
Acadian Flycatcher  1 N
Red-eyed Vireo  1 N
Black-capped Chickadee  2 N
Wood Thrush  2 N
American Robin  4 N
Common Yellowthroat  1 N
Ovenbird  1 N
Brown-headed Cowbird  1 N
Baltimore Oriole  1 N