Bird Totals August 24 to September 30, 2015, Bird Banding #2

Bird banding numbers were recently totaled.  We got 559 birds of 61 species.  I got to see about fifty of these birds listed.  Notable birds are pictured below.  All pictures are credited by author.

The most numerous bird has been the Swainson's Thrush, with 52 birds captured.  Photo credit Wikipedia.  Swainson's are Canadian birds that eat insects and are related closely to robins.  They migrate early on in the fall.



Following this bird is the House Finch, with 35 individuals.  (Photo credit Wikipedia)

This is not a house finch. This is a Cooper's hawk, two of which were caught in nets.  But that is an aside. Here is a male house finch. Females look similar, but lack the splash of red.  House finches are native to the Western U.S. and have taken over in the East as a kind of invasive species.  (Photo credit John Benson from Wikipedia)



28 American goldfinches come in at third place.



The single best day had 88 birds with 23 species, and that was September 9.  Earlier today was the second-best day, with 17 yellow-rumped warblers (see below, photo credit Wikipedia) adding to the mix of 58 birds of 21 species.



Warblers are insectivorous birds that come in various color forms and patterns.  They invariably require a good book or a trained eye to identify.  Half the fun of bird banding is trying to guess what species of warbler is present. There have been 26 different species at the bird banding station over the years, with twenty this year, including one new for the station, the Cape May Warbler (pictured below, photo credit birdfellow.com)

Overall, bird banding is going quite well.  Through the last few years, there have been OVER 9000 birds captured and released without injury, although possibly a few ruffled feathers.  Sorry, I couldn't resist a chance for a pun and a meme in the same sentence.  Anyway, tomorrow's a new month of birds, and with the north-to-south winds this week, it should be good weather for migration.