Pictorial_Highlights_091115

POWDERMILL NATURE RESERVE
PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS
September 11-15, 2002

Friday to Sunday, September 13-15, 2002: Carroll Labarthe, Carole Shanahan, David Leibmann, and Annie Lindsay helped with the banding over the weekend. Off-and-on rainy weather allowed for very little banding effort on Sunday.

Saturday, which was our second >100 bird banding day of the season, provided our highest capture rate (60 birds banded/100 net hours) so far this fall. In addition, among a season high daily count of 33 species, five new species for fall 2002 were banded on Saturday, including Bay-breasted (left) and Cape May (right) warblers.

Thursday, September 12, 2002: Clear, calm and very cool before dawn, becoming mostly sunny and mild by late morning. Strong nocturnal flight calling by various thrush species (most, apparently, flew right on over!) No additional help with the banding today, so just 35 nets were opened.

Far and away, the bird of the day was Gray Catbird (16 banded), with most of the other 20 species being banded as single individuals. Among these singles, however, was one new species for the fall--the large, decurved half-yellow bill easily identifies which cuckoo species it was, and the fleshy yellow eye ring pegs it as a hatching year Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Wednesday, September 11, 2002: Strong northwestly winds and much cooler, finally seasonable, temperatures followed in the wake of a cold front overnight. Unfortunately, there was no measureable precipitation with the front, so conditions at Powdermill remain exceedingly dry. Because of gusting winds, we opened only about half of our total nets, and we attended these especially closely. Although our capture rate (30 birds/100 net hours) was lower than last week, we think this was due mostly to reduced mist-netting efficiency under the windy conditions, rather than to fewer birds in the banding area. The species composition of our catch today suggested that there was, in fact, a substantial movement of migrants ahead of the front. Randi Gerrish helped with the banding today.

Among several northern migrants banded today was our first Tennessee Warbler of the fall--a hatching year (HY) male (sexed based on wing length of 65mm). In its fall plumage, especially, this species is perhaps best identified by its general lack of any strong field marks--in fact, a good friend of ours has described it simply as "hopeless green." This, of course, makes it an HGB (or Hopeless Green Bird), which is not to be confused with an LBJ (or Little Brown Job!)

Back in July we publish a picture of an adult female Hooded Warbler that had such an extensive black hood that it could have been mistaken for an immature male at a glance. Today we caught an HY male which had unusually extensive greenish veiling of its black hood, such that it could have been mistaken for one of these very black hooded adult females if its age had not been correctly determined by skulling.