Here is the full report of the banding at Occoquan NWR, Prince William
County. The report was
complied by Suzanne Miller, the lead bander at the station:
WHAT A WEEKEND! I attribute our good fortune at rain avoidance, species
variety and number of birds to the Beginners Luck of Marquette Crockett,
a visiting US F&WS biologist (amphibians) from Canaan Valley, WV. The
weather forecasters would have had us rained out all 3 days with severe
storms, but we got in the maximum number of net-hours.
On Friday we had ANOTHER Brown Creeper, the 3rd ever Winter Wren, 4th
White-eyed Vireo and 6th Yellow-breasted Chat. On Saturday we had 4 hours
at OCCO, banding our 6th House Wren and 2nd Rusty Blackbird, before shutting
down to move to the Fairfax County, VA Mason Neck State Park for the
Elizabeth Hartwell Eagle Festival. We were closed no more than 10 minutes
before the skies opened. We drove our operation and demonstration net over
to the State Park. The rain let up off and on; we ran for 5 hours netting
only 6 birds, but successfully banded 50 children.
The write-up is in Sundays Washington Post, Metro section: On Earth Day,
Abundant Wildlife at Eagle Festival. It starts Its a little unnerving
for a kid the first time a live, twitching bird is in her hands. Sometimes
it pecks at fingers. But with the help of her mom, 6-year-old Aubrey Hutson
clutched a red-bellied woodpecker
At the bird-banding tent, volunteers
from Friends of the Potomac River Refuges occasionally snagged smaller
species [vis-à-vis eagles] in an invisible net strung in front of a tree
line
studying the types of birds that stop at Mason Neck, how long they
stay and whether the habitat is serving its purpose of providing a safe
place for migrating birds
Sunday was all about numbers. We banded 68 birds, recaptured 6 and had 1
repeat. The most birds handled is 80 from May 1st and May 11th, 2002; so we
got close to a record day. Susan Heath and her Ornithology class from
George Mason University were here, so we put them to work carrying bags,
scribing and checking net tensions. A Dark-eyed Junco became OCCOs 82nd
species.
Forewarned is forearmed: one of our learned birders has predicted even more
Butter Butts this coming weekend. The gate opens at 7:00, and all visitors
are welcome.
Results:
Friday, April 21, 2006: 90 net-hours, 4 visitors:
Banded 21 birds of 10 species:
WEVI, 1, White-eyed Vireo
BRCR, 1, Brown Creeper
WIWR, 1, Winter Wren
MYWA, 4, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
YPWA, 1, (Yellow) Palm Warbler
COYE, 2, Common Yellowthroat
YBCH, 1, Yellow-breasted Chat
SWSP, 5, Swamp Sparrow
WTSP, 4, White-throated Sparrow
NOCA, 1, Northern Cardinal
Recaptured 3 birds (all birds banded at OCCO unless otherwise noted):
ETTI, 1, Eastern Tufted Titmouse, banded this year
WTSP, 1, banded this year
NOCA, 1, banded this year.
Saturday, April 22, 2006; 60 net-hours:
Banded 10 birds of 9 species:
HOWR, 1, House Wren
RCKI, 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet
BGGN, 1, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
BRTH, 1, Brown Thrasher
COYE, 1, Common Yellowthroat
EATO, 1, Eastern Towhee
FISP, 1, Field Sparrow
RUBL, 1, Rusty Blackbird
COGR, 2, Common Grackle
Recaptured 5 birds:
CARW, 1, banded 5/15/2005 and recaptured a 3rd time this year
COYE, 1, banded this year
NOCA, 3, 2 banded this year and each recaptured for the 2nd time this
year, and 1 banded 5/17/2003 and in the nets for the 3rd time this year.
Saturday, April 22, 2006; Mason Neck State Park, 5 net-hours, 100 visitors:
Banded 6 birds of 5 species:
RBWO, 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker
CACH, 1, Carolina Chickadee
WBNU, 1, White-breasted Nuthatch (also a repeat this afternoon)
CHSP, 1, Chipping Sparrow
BHCO, 2, Brown-headed Cowbird.
Sunday, April 23, 2006; 90 net-hours, 9 visitors:
Banded 68 birds of 11 species:
BGGN, 1, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
GRCA, 1, Gray Catbird
MYWA, 30, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
YPWA, 3, (Yellow) Palm Warbler
NOWA, 1, Northern Waterthrush
SOSP, 1, Song Sparrow
SWSP, 2, Swamp Sparrow
WTSP, 23, White-throated Sparrow
SCJU, 1, Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco, the 1st
NOCA, 2, Northern Cardinal
RWBL, 3, Red-winged Blackbird
Recaptured 6 birds:
EATO, 1, Eastern Towhee, banded this year and recaptured a 3rd time
SWSP, 2, Swamp Sparrow, 1 banded this year and 1 banded 4/23/2005 and
recaptured a 2nd time
WTSP, 2, White-throated Sparrow, both banded this year
RWBL, 1, Red-winged Blackbird, banded 4/24/2004.
Joanna B. Taylor
Arlington, VA
jandrtaylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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