Mid to Late Migration

Now that we're in the second half of May, I expect to get more of these guys -- hard-to-identify Empidonax flycatchers. We ended up calling this a Traill's Flycatcher, bander speak for a bird that didn't call while in the net. It did make some noise in the hand, but not the right kind for an unequivocal I.D. I'm leaning towards Willow Flycatcher, but it could also be an Alder.

It is possible to separate >50% of these birds by measurements, but the bird was hot and didn't need to be bothered further so we let it go.

Other fun mid-month birds included this Northern Waterthrush. I was able to get better pictures of it than previous individuals.

Because I knew that two experienced volunteers would be helping today, I set up and opened 12 nets and we ended up with about 50 birds. Not too bad for a clear day with winds out of the North, but then Presque Isle does hold a lot of birds when the migration conditions are unfavorable. I had 17 species of warblers within 100 m of the banding table and that was without doing very much birding at all (~30 minutes). One of the nicest views was of a singing Hooded Warbler, who hasn't found one of our nets yet. There's always tomorrow.

Another nice warbler was this male Wilson's. Out West they're one of the most common warblers you see during migration, but here there much less abundant. 

One of our favorite visitors (and not just because he brings doughnuts) brought his dog. She loves to watch the banding. I'm not sure whether she's wondering what going on, or if she just wants to play catch with those little flying things.

Either way, she's very cute.

Another SY American Redstart with their characteristic black splotches on his face and chest.

A female Canada Warblers, another indication that we're getting later into May. 

As is this female Blackburnian Warbler.

We did also catch several resident birds. This female Downy Woodpecker was a challenge to remove from the net, and she did not appreciate our efforts to free her, constantly pecking at my fingers. 

She reminded me of a fall day many years ago when a bander at Falsterbo, Sweden was showing off one of the birds they'd caught that morning. his hands were covered with tiny wounds, courtesy of the 100+ Blue Tits they'd removed from the nets during the previous few days. Thankfully, Downy Woodpeckers don't migrate in great numbers or my hands would be bleeding by the end of the day.