[va-bird] Kiptopeke banding 10/26: BALD EAGLE & Kentucky Warbler both BANDED!

Howdy all,

Ok, so today was like no other day I have had in the six years I have been 
working at Kiptopeke. So the day started off with a huge bang! Too huge in 
fact. 
We caught so many birds the first net run that we were closing nets behind us 
as we cleared them. LOTS of SPARROWS and HERMIT THRUSHES. But the biggest 
surprise of the passerine day was pulled out of the bag about 8am and to my 
bewildered surprise was a KENTUCKY WARBLER!! An extremely LATE Kentucky 
Warbler! 
Does anyone have an extreme late date for Kentucky's??  Well, we finally got 
them all banded and opened a FEW nets later. Well about 11am we had a group of 
about 40 second graders at the banding station. Life was somewhat normal by 
this 
time. Then, over the radio, comes a voice from the guy trapping raptors for 
the day here in the park. He had just caught a BALD EAGLE!!!! At that point, 
life is altered again! Well, to make a long story short. There was a quick 
assemble of people that were around including the state park staff and the 
eagle 
was brought up to the hawk platform. Even the second graders got to see it! And 
with one gentle toss in the air, the eagle was again, king of the skies! 

Wow, what a day! Not sure I could handle many more days like today! All in 
all, it was a great day. And if you want to see a place where birds were 
EVERYWHERE, then Kiptopeke was that spot today! 

Anyway, here is the breakdown for the songbirds banded today.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet               5
Golden-crowned Kinglet            6
Brown Creeper                         1
Winter Wren                            1
Yellow Palm Warbler                 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler             161
Kentucky Warbler                      1          extremely late!!!
Blue-headed Vireo                      2
Hermit Thrush                           25        first big push of the season
American Robin                         3
Blue Jay                                    1
Northern Cardinal                        1
Gray Catbird                             10
Eastern Towhee                          2
Song Sparrow                            10
White-throated Sparrow               50
Swamp Sparrow                          9
Slate-colored Junco                     3
TOTAL ---------------------------------  292

We were very short staffed today, so we really couldn't do much. Hopefully 
more staff will be around tomorrow, and through the weekend. I am hoping the 
large number of birds will stick around!

Cheers,
A very tired,
Jethro Runco

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