Two Highlights of the Week
So I'd like to take the time to highlight these two birds as they are both very special for different reasons.
First, was a Gray Catbird that was caught on 5/21/15. She was originally banded on 5/7/2010 as an 'AHY' bird. 'AHY' stands for After Hatch Year, which means, at the time of her capture her age was indeterminable but the bander knew they she was at least one year old as all birds celebrate their birthdays on January 1st of each year. That makes this pretty lady AT LEAST six years old! Think of all the obstacles that she probably has overcome just flying from her wintering grounds in Central America to her breeding territory here at Presque Isle State Park for the last six years. That's pretty impressive! She didn't want to pose for a nice photo op, but with her extensive brood patch, I imagine she probably had eggs to get back to so we also didn't want to hold her too long. I think the oldest catbird on record lived to almost 18 years old, so here's wishing this pretty momma many more successful years!
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| Female Gray Catbird, at least six years old. |
The second bird that I'd like to highlight is one that is notable because of how rare it is to even see one in the park, let alone catch one in the nets. And that is the male Cerulean Warbler seen below. Cerulean Warblers spend most of their time higher up in the canopy than almost all other warblers that we see here so that is why it is both rare to see one and to catch one. This young male was banded on 5/11/15 and as we often see returning migrants year after year, let's hope that this handsome fella decides to grace us again with his presence next year!
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| Second Year Male Cerulean Warbler Photo by Gigi Gerben |
