Howdy all,
Today started the fall banding season here at Kiptopeke. Run by Coastal
Virginia Wildlife Observatory, we will be banding everyday (weather permitting)
from now until the 22nd of November. If this season is similar to past seasons,
we will be mainly banding in the morning through the next few weeks due to the
warm temperatures and the low volume of birds. We usually close the station for
the day between 10am and noon. As the weather gets cooler and the bird numbers
increase, we will be running 6-8 hours after sunrise (usually Sept through
Nov). I will write more as time allows.
So the start of the season was not too bad. We managed to band 20 birds
including a few migrants. Of course, resident birds made up the bulk. As with
all seasons here, NORTHERN CARDINAL and CAROLINA WRENS are commonly caught
early in the season, this year is no different. But it is nice to see some
migrants coming through already. The highlight of the day was the capture of
three BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS. Not a species we catch every year or one we catch
many of. Over the last eight years, only 13 have been caught with six of those
coming in 2004. As for true migrants, we had two very fat AMERICAN REDSTARTS.
Totals for 8/15:
American Redstart???????????? 2
Prairie Warbler????????????????? 2
Least Flycatcher??????????????? 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher??????? 3
Indigo Bunting??????????????????? 1
Carolina Wren??????????????????? 5
Northern Cardinal?????????????? 6
TOTAL----------------------------- 20
If you are interested in visiting the banding station, we are located inside
Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore. We band seven days a week and are
open to the public. Currently, our first net run of the day is at 6:30am but
that will change in a few weeks as sunrise changes. I'll keep you posted!
As a side note, we are currently getting some much needed rain! Nice big storm!
Been very dry here (at least that's what everybody is telling me and the ground
is hard as a rock)!
Cheers,
Jethro Runco
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
www.cvwo.org
