Erie Bluffs

Bring on the Volunteers

Now that migration is picking up, I've needed volunteers to help me record data and remove birds from the nets. Yesterday, four people came to assist me at Erie Bluffs SP, for which I was very grateful. Of course, the promisingly cloudy weather with lots of bird activity quickly turned to rain and then sunny, cold and NW wind. Not ideal conditions, but we made steady progress and ended up with 39 new birds and three recaptures. New for the year were Chipping Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler and Swainson's Thrush.

The Chipping Sparrows ae now in their alternate (breeding) plumage, with nice rusty caps and a distinct supercilium.

Chipping Sparrow

The only other likely Spizella sparrow, Clay-colored, has a much more distinct ear patch and a streaky crown. I've been on the lookout for them as they're migrating through right now, 

A new warbler for the year was this male Wilson's Warbler. He weighed in at 7.7 g, or a little more than 1/4 oz. 

Wilson's Warbler

The black cap is very distinctive on the male, females and immatures can be a little problematical to I.D.

Although they've very common, Red-winged blackbirds spend most of their time in more open habitat, so don't get caught in our nets. These two were caught together, which gave an opportunity to take a close look at this gorgeous bird.

North American blackbirds are related to orioles, which is easy to see when look at them up close.

Baltimore Oriole

The female is less gaudy, but you can see hints of the red chevron on her wing.

We also caught our first Swainson's Thrush of the spring, which escaped before I was able to photograph it. Instead I'll substitute with this recaptured Veery. It was banded at Erie Bluffs in 2010, so has been to South American and back twice since then. A bird that's been places.

We also caught a male White-breasted Nuthatch. It was netted in the same net where we caught a female last week, so it's most likely one of a local pair. He has much contrast in his plumage than does the female. 

I love these guys' bills, they remind me of Red-throated Loons.

We also caught five Blue Jays. They tend to go limp if you place them on their back. Here's a picture of me practicing my Jay Whisperer skills.