Today was another slow – and steamy hot, blazing sun – day and so we were all dragging a bit. But, as always, the upside of slow days is the time to dig deeper into each bird and compare notes and thoughts.
We, of course, had our usual parade of catbirds – with a few AHY GRCAs mixed in with the HYs. Our first sparrow arrived – a Song Sparrow – and we also had our first HY American Robin. It is always interesting to band a bird that seems so common in our everyday lives as they can look – and act – so differently in the hand.
Eleanor worked on her extracting skills, Lilah continued to work on handling and releasing birds, and Peg practiced the tautline hitch knot that we use to hold the nets up. Rebecca dug into our banding records to find the initial banding dates for the return birds we have recaptured so far this season. And David got back into the rhythm of the banding station.
Throughout the afternoon we kept a close eye on the radar as there was another thunderstorm expected today. An hour or so before it arrived, while we were in the net lanes, we could feel the winds shift dramatically and immediately afterwards the island Barred Owl began hooting. Perhaps he too was enjoying the cooling breeze.
As the storm rolled in we watched the clouds rolling across the horizon and were thrilled to cool off once the rain began – the Appledore shower. The arrival of the storm was also perfectly timed to allow us to dig into the special treat of a lobster dinner tonight.
The forecast is for slightly cooler temps, and less humidity tomorrow, which we are all sincerely hoping will come to pass.
Goodnight for now – Rebecca, Peg, David, Lilah, and Eleanor
| Eastern Phoebe | 1 |
| Song Sparrow | 1 |
| Carolina Wren | 1 |
| Gray Catbird | 11 |
| American Robin | 1 |
| Yellow Warbler | 2 |
| Ovenbird | 1 |
| Northern Cardinal | 1 |
| TOTAL | 19 |
| TOTAL FOR SEASON | 71 |