Pictorial Highlights_ 04280504

POWDERMILL NATURE RESERVE
PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS
April 28-May 4, 2003

Sunday, May 4, 2003: Rain during the first hour of daylight delayed net opening and windy conditions thereafter limited our effort somewhat. Although the sun broke through eventually, it remained windy, and we closed nets by noon. Diane Pick helped with the banding.

No new species for spring were banded today. Although they were edged out in our totals by Ruby-crowned Kinglet (six banded), Nashville Warblers were again the most conspicuous birds in the banding area all day: four were banded, two were recaptured, and they seemed at times to be singing from every net lane. A good rendering of their song is "see'-bit, see'-bit, see'-bit, see'-bit, ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti"

Nashville Warbler, ASY male

We meant to post its picture yesterday, but forgot--fortunately, this handsome ASY male Indigo Bunting repeated in our nets today, reminding us to share its picture with you.

Saturday, May 3, 2003: Mostly cloudy and seasonably mild to start, becoming sunnier and very breezy by late morning. We closed nets a little early due to the strong winds. Nathan Tarr and Brian Jones assisted with the banding today.

With 13 banded, Nashville Warbler topped the banding list again today; our spring total for this species currently stands at 40, which already is our seventh highest spring total for the species in 42 years!

Among the 78 birds and 26 species banded today were three new species for the spring 2003 season: Black-throated Green Warbler (top photo below; a second year female), Black-and-white Warbler (middle photo below; an after second year male), and Black-billed Cuckoo (bottom photo below; closeup of its characteristic bright red fleshy orbital ring--grayish in adult Yellow-billed Cuckoos--and its unusual zygodactyl toe arrangement, similar to a woodpecker's).

Black-throated Green Warbler, SY female

Black-billed Cuckoo, eye ring, bill, & zygodactyl foot

Monday through Friday, April 28-May 2, 2003: We apologize for falling a little behind in posting our totals and highlights this week. The webmaster was away from the banding station for the first three banding days of the week, and this created a backlog of totals to enter. Our busiest banding day of the season today delayed the catching up on totals further still, but we didn't mind too much having that particular excuse! We thank Adrienne Leppold, Randi Gerrish, Brian Jones, Carroll Labarthe, and Mike Lutmerding for their help with the banding this week.

Spring really sprung on the last day of April, when 56 birds of 22 species were banded, ten of these species being new for the season. Today, May 2, we banded 93 birds of 30 species (another nine being new for the season), including 10 species of wood warblers, like the ASY male Magnolia and Black-throated Blue Warblers pictured below. Most numerous among the wood warblers over the course of the last four banding days were Nashville (27 banded) and Yellow (10). Overall, we have added 20 species to this spring's banding list (which now stands at 73) in the last four days.

Black-throated Blue Warbler, ASY male

On Thursday, May 1, we netted two Orchard Orioles together (a Baltimore Oriole in the net with them escaped!): an ASY female (first two photos below) and an SY male (second two photos below). While the spread wing of the female shows some overall wear, there are no molt limits; in comparison, the SY male wing shows molt limits between molted inner secondaries 5-9 and retained juvenal outer secondaries 1-4; also between retained juvenal inner primaries 1-2 and the molted outer seven primaries. In the SY male, there is a single molted first basic outermost primary covert, and a single more recently molted first alternate greater covert (no. 8) that is fresher and more brightly edged than the surrounding first basic greater coverts molted last fall.

Orchard Oriole, ASY female

Orchard Oriole, wing of ASY female

Orchard Oriole, SY male

Orchard Oriole, wing of SY male

Far and away the most interesting bird of the last four days was a bird caught today (May 2) but released unbanded because we could not positively identify it! It's true--the Powdermill banders found themselves stumped by an ASY female grosbeak that appeared to have attributes of both Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeak, and which may well have been a hybrid between the two. After exhausting all possible references, and so as to not risk exhausting the bird itself through overhandling, we simply took a good series of photographs and released it unbanded.

In the photos below, the following field marks supported BHGR: strongly buff-tinged underparts, fine side streaking, dusky bill, and darker (not lemon) yellow underwings. The whitish supercilium (although buffy anteriorly and posteriorly) and the slightly heavier streaking across the upper breast, however, were not "classic" BHGR; this coupled with the pinkish undertones to the dusky bill suggested the possibility of its being a hybrid with RBGR. The bird's tail length, 76.0 mm, was on the long side for a RBGR based on Pyle (1997).

It goes without saying that we would very much like to hear from any of you who has an opinion concerning the correct identification of this bird!

Mystery grosbeak (ASY female), possible Rose-breasted X Black-headed

Mystery grosbeak, possible Rose-breasted X Black-headed

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