• August 12-18, 2002:

 
• During the week we were very pleased at Powdermill to host fifteen participants taking part in an NSF Chautauqua short course for college teachers entitled, "Biodiversity and ecology of mammals and birds of the Appalachians."   Participants from as far away as Minnesota and South Carolina attended a variety of lectures, labs, field exercises, and field trips aimed at introducing them to the birds and mammals of the region.  Naturally, visits (both scheduled and unscheduled) to the bird banding station were part of the course, and, while the dry conditions seemed to be working against us a little this week (both in terms of banding and field birding), the group nonetheless was treated to closeup views of a broad range of species from Ruby-throated Hummingbird to Eastern Screech Owl to Sharp-shinned Hawk to numerous songbirds, including at least a few of Appalachia's infamous "confusing fall warblers."  We thank Alicia Anzaldo, Woody Bousquet, Mark Cozin, Pearl Fernandez, Nils and Mary Hovik (not pictured below), Bob Keller, David Leibmann, Lane Loya, Jeff Port, Kathy Schreiber, Miriam Sharick, Rob Sternberg, John Trimble, and Neil Woffinden for their companionable and enthusiastic participation.

 

 

Pictured below are most of the course participants, along with some of Powdermill's staff: Bob Mulvihill (and "Puppy") at lower left; Bob Leberman at far right; Powdermill's Resident Director, Joe Merritt, fifth from right; Dr. Merritt's Research Assistant, Jami Paul (and "Mica") at lower right; lastly, Powdermill summer intern Samantha "Sam" Carpenter, fifth from left (photo taken by banding intern Brian Jones).

In the above photo, banding Intern, Brian Jones, shows some of the Chautauqua group (left to right: David Leibmann, John Trimble, one of Jeff Port's sons, Pearl Fernandez, and Woody Bousquet) this small (<100 grams) immature male Sharp-shinned Hawk.

• Several banding highlights this week are pictured below.  From top to bottom, they are:  an adult (SY, based on two small skull "windows") female Yellow-breasted Chat that had maximum fat deposits (we missed banding this species altogether last fall); an HY male Golden-winged Warbler; an HY female Northern Parula (one of two NOPAs banded this week); an HY female Orchard Oriole; one of three AHY Chimney Swifts banded this week (fewer than 25 of this high-flying species have ever been banded at Powdermill), with a closeup of its unusual pamprodactyl foot (i.e., all four toes can be turned forward, an adaptation for clinging vertically).  All five of the foregoing species were new for our fall 2002 banding list.

• Lastly, although not a banding highlight, per se, one of a brood of late-fledged Gray Catbirds struck a pose that looked to us like a mimic thrush's answer to the famous "The Mad Bluebird" image by Michael Smith.

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