POWDERMILL NATURE RESERVE
PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS
September 25-29, 2002
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Sunday, September 29, 2002:
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One third of our total catch today was thrushes--we
banded a season high 31 Swainson's Thrushes,
along with 11 Gray-cheeked
Thrushes (a hatching year bird is pictured
below), which is our highest one day count for that species since 1983.
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We had another very heavy flight of Lincoln's
Sparrows today (15 banded) which matched our
catch from 9/25, which we mentioned was the second highest one day catch
for the species in 42 fall seasons at Powdermill. The finely streaked
buffy breast band and buff-colored malar streak and eye ring easily separate
the LISP from
its more heavily streaked (Song Sparrow)
and indistinctly streaked (Swamp Sparrow)
congeners. The photo below is of an adult (AHY)
LISP showing its characteristic clear gray
supercilium, or eye brow stripe. Similar to the very reliable age
criterion used for SWSP
(but not quite as obvious), in hatching year (HY) LISPs
the supercilium typically is tinged with olive-yellow.
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We banded four Eastern
Towhees today, including one AHY and two HY
males. As with Red-eyed Vireos (in
fact, long ago EATOs
used to be called Red-eyed Towhees),
the age classes differ markedly in eye color in fall. AHY birds (top
photos) have blood red irides, while HY birds (bottom photos) have brown
ones.
Saturday, September 28, 2002:
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Among the 41 species banded today were 14 species
of wood warblers (led by 18 Magnolia Warblers),
four species of thrushes (led by 27 Swainson's
Thrush), three species of wrens (including
our second Marsh Wren),
and four species of vireos, including very nice examples (both hatching
year birds) of a Yellow-throated
and
Blue-headed
vireo, shown together in the photo plate below.
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Thursday, September 26, 2002:
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Because of the rainy conditions and the necessarily
reduced banding effort, we certainly did not expect a repeat of yesterday's
heavy banding activity, and we weren't surprised otherwise! Among
the 59 birds banded of 26 species, however, was one species new for our
fall banding list and another that Prof. Norman was especially keen to
see before leaving.
No matter that during his brief stay we
processed 345 birds of 55 species, including 19 species of North America's
signature bird family, the wood warblers, David might not have left with
so broad a smile on his face if the last round of the day had not produced,
of all things...
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a Black-capped Chickadee!
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We're poking a bit of fun at our new friend, of
course--David clearly enjoyed all of the birds and the banding,
and
we enjoyed very much the opportunity to compare and contrast our banding
techniques and to discuss bird banding research and bird conservation with
him. Prof. Norman is a former council member of the premiere
government-funded conservation organization in England, English
Nature. His understanding
and experience regarding how bird banding research can be linked directly
to bird conservation were very instructive for us to hear about.
Thank you, David, for your help and for your engaging company--we
hope to see you again soon, on one side of "The Pond" or the other!
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The new species for our fall 2002 banding list
was this adult Marsh Wren.
Hidden from view, but nonetheless heard calling throughout the morning
from amid the cattails next to Long
Lane Net No. 6, which extends across our Iron Spring Swamp, it was
not caught in that net until the penultimate net round of the day.
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We banded our first adult male Black-throated
Green Warbler of the fall today--like most
other warblers, adult males of this species differ little in appearance
between spring and fall (and, yes, that is a drop of rain water balanced
on the very top of its head!).
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Wednesday, September 25, 2002:
We were very fortunate to have the assistance
of Prof. David Norman, a very experienced ringer from Great Britain, who
extended his visit with a colleague at Princeton, NJ so that he could visit
the Powdermill banding station for a couple of days. As it
turns out, the fortune went both ways--not only did we get the help of
a much needed extra hand, but also David got to see a wide variety (50
species, counting recaptures) and the largest number (267) of birds banded
so far this fall!
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Fifteen species of wood warblers (109 individuals)
were banded today, led, as usual, by Magnolia
Warbler (31), followed by Common
Yellowthroat
(17),
Cape
May (12), and Black-throated
Green Warbler (11), and Ovenbird
(10).
The Orange-crowned Warbler pictured
below (an HY-F) was new for the fall banding list.
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Our second Dark-eyed
Junco of the season, like our first one last
week, was not a migrant, but rather a hatching year bird of the non-migratory
local breeding race (Junco hyemalis carolinensis),
which is distinguishable, among other features, by its bluish horn-colored
bill. The northern migratory race, J.
h. hyemalis, has a pinkish bill.
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Last week we posted pictures of adult male Rose-breasted
Grosbeaks showing arrested definitive prebasic
molt and completed definitive prebasic molt. In the case of the bird
with the arrested molt, the unmolted middle secondaries were retained from
the juvenal plumage, meaning that the bird could be distinguished as a
second year (SY) adult. We mentioned that ASY RBGRs
could sometimes be distinguished when any retained secondaries (or primaries)
clearly are non-juvenal remiges (i.e., contrasting much less in color and
wear with the adjacent recently molted flight feathers).
Today we caught an ASY RBGR
that had arrested prebasic wing molt in the exact same place as the SY
RBGR
last week. In the photo below, these two birds are compared (SY male,
top photo; ASY male, bottom photo). Note that it is MUCH MORE
difficult to discern the molt limit between molted secondaries 1-2 and
7-9 and retained secondaries 3-6 in the case of the ASY male.
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