Hey, y’all!! The energetic south winds brought us HUNDREDS!!! : )
of leaves!
Very few birds but one was a lovely “Christmas” – see below. What is going on is “DRY”. I’ve seen the Island drier but only once or twice. Crystal Lake is the only water hole with actual water on island right now and it is down about a foot but still hosting lots of young Herring Gulls.
Becky disappeared on the 1:00 boat after contributing nicely to the banding and to our day’s species list. Alexa (from MARS – the flight call study) arrived and was with me when about a 2 foot long Garter Snake scurried under net 1. Garter Snakes have not been on Appledore for very many years and their origin is absolutely unknown unlike our other 2 snake species which were brought out during the pre WWII edition of the Lab by a UNH professor who simply thought the island needed snakes. We’ve not yet seen either species this fall.
The nets gave us one “Christmas”, a good number of retraps, and enough Catbirds to pass the halfway point of last fall’s record numbers.
The 60th Anniversary Celebration brought us an unusually sophisticated Sunday Brunch. Weight gain is nearly a “given” on Appledore. It also brought us extra visitors who are fun but definitely distractions.
It’s still August. Alexa, David, and Robin do hope you are able to enjoy the relaxation summer is giving us.
| Least Flycatcher | 1 |
| Carolina Wren | 3 |
| Gray Catbird | 7 |
| Blue-winged Warbler | 1 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 1 |
| DAY’S TOTAL | 13 |