Howdy all,
Another day of higher winds at the banding station. Therefore, we only banded
8 birds. I was hopeful with the forecast of 5-10mph for the day, but that was
not the case through most of the morning. So we only ran a few protected nets
and saw limited action.
I did manage to find a large flock of SWAMP and SONG SPARROWS in the marsh
near the banding station. I saw roughly 75-80 sparrows get up from an area. Who
knows how many I didn't see. Of note, one of the Song Sparrows, looked really
funny. I first got a good look at the back and wings and thought, Wow, a
Lincoln's Sparrow! But then the bird turned around and it was plain as day a
Song
Sparrow. Not sure if it was a different race than I am use to seeing here in VA
or if it was an extremely worn bird. It was probably the most exciting thing
all day.
Also found a bunch of "minnows" (I am an idiot when it comes to fish, so
forgive me for the lack of a better, more accurate term) spawning. They were
only
about 2 inches long, and really seemed to have the groove on. They were
located in a tidal pool in about 1-2 inches of water. It was a nice break from
the
boredom watching these little fellas.
Anyway.
Here's the totals for the day.
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
American Robin 2
Hermit Thrush 1
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Total ---------------------------- 8
Cheers,
Jethro