some missed photo's and migration is winding down

Today we were able to get started setting the nest up at  430  easily beating sunrise and the bugs. The photo below was taken after the nets were set up. knowing this was the last week of the true migration for us we wanted to make sure the nets were up to meet our bander in charge Chris Sukha's  protocol. With Thursday looking like a rain day we wanted to make sure we gave today every chance we could. While we will still be banding next week we have very little expectation  to catch many birds and our protocol has us banding to the end of the first week of June every year. Although the last week is always very slow.

A view few experience  but is always there for the taking. While I am truly not a morning person getting up early has its rewards. 

June 1st banding totals


1 least flycatcher
16 alder flycatcher
1 yellow bellied flycatcher
1 chestnut-sided warbler
5 yellow warbler
4 common yellow throat
2 mourning warbler
5 wilson's warbler
7 american redstart
1 philadelphia warbler
1 red eyed vireo
1 chipping sparrow
1 song sparrow
1 swamp sparrow
1 purple finch
1 american goldfinch
1 veert
5 cedar waxwing
1 gray catbird
3 american robin
4 red-winged blackbird
1 yellow shafted flicker


64 birds
22 species

Thanks to Reeeed Murphy, Siddd Coll EEEthan Quinton and Super Suuuukha  aka Chris Sukha our Bander in charge  another great banding day at the Hilliardton marsh!!







One of the nice things about banding in June is the arrival of cedar waxwings. Sometime they hardly arrive before we have to shut down our banding efforts but this year they arrived in the last week of May and we are hoping to get some good numbers. I was looking at our past data and with the waxwings we caught today the 10 birds we have banded this  spring  is above average for most years efforts

Reed and steady volunteer extractor Ron Judd with the first waxwings of the year

beautiful

Always lucky when we can band a northern parula

male and female blackburnian caught at our Dawson point site

Another view of these boreal beauties

Ethan holding our 4th yellow bellied flycatcher of the spring . Ethan is a past Terra student and our stewardship youth ranger crew leader  and great marsh personality. We al;ways appreciate Ethan's help and all the time he gives to the marsh.