Pictorial_Highlights_081925

POWDERMILL NATURE RESERVE
PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS
August 19-25, 2002

On 8/24 we caught immature female Wilson's and Hooded warblers in the same net round. This is the only plumage in which the two species might be confused in the field (the Hooded's large white tail spots, entirely lacking in Wilson's, are not always visible), so we took the opportunity for another side-by-side photo comparison. Note the larger overall size, proportionately larger eye, larger and darker bill and darker lores (feathering in front of the eye) in the Hooded (middle photo and bird on right in top photo). The Wilson's (bottom photo and bird on left in top photo) has a proportionately longer tail.

Our first two Mourning Warblers of the season, banded on 8/24, were adult (AHY) males.

We banded another Golden-winged Warbler this week (our second for the fall--we missed banding GWWA altogether last fall). This bird was a particularly handsome adult (AHY) male, with a somewhat unusual white lower eye arc (compare to last week's HY male, then use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page).

Our second Blackburnian Warbler for the fall was a particularly bright plumaged adult female. Among other things, the bird's grayish olive (as opposed to blackish) auriculars (ear or cheek patch) and less extensively white lower wing bar distinguished it from an adult male. Without knowing the bird's age (by skulling), however, it could easily have been mistaken as an immature male.

Our first Belted Kingfisher of the fall was caught in the same larger mesh (61mm) net set between two small ponds that was responsible for our capture last week of three Chimney Swifts. Like CHSWs, BEKIs have an unusual foot morphology compared to the familiar perching birds (i.e., passerines) that dominate our catch here at Powdermill. In kingfishers, the third and fourth toes are partly fused, an arrangement that is termed syndactyl. A BEKI's large bill is formidable, both as a food gathering tool and a weapon of defense against banders! The biting strength is terrific, and the edges of the bill are razor-sharp. This perfect adaptation for keeping a good grip on slippery, struggling prey like fish, frogs, and salamanders, also means that an unlucky bander who is bitten by a BEKI should not react by quickly yanking his or her finger out from the tightly closed bill (think paper cut times ten!), but rather must pry the bill open firmly, rescuing the trapped finger before the BEKI bites down on the next unwary digit!