Date: 10/13/24 6:17 am From: Barbara Volkle <barb620...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] Banding trip plus surprise
Thanks to Strickland Wheelock for this report.
Barbara Volkle Northborough, MA <barb620...>
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Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2024 12:50:53 +0000 (UTC) From: Strickland Wheelock <skwheelock...> Subject: Banding trip plus surprise
This Sat 12th, our crew of banders welcomed a group of participants from Drumlin Farm to join us at this special property in Uxbridge that is maintained to provide food/cover for all wildlife, esp the birds, bees, located on a marsh, fields groomed with plants to provide cover and seeds - the owners house was build in 1737 on this historic property and welcome us to band on this picturesque property.However this property is so bird friendly that Fri. 11th that we [the day before] captured 80 birds just in 2 net checks -once we saw what we were dealing with, we banded many but then started to extract the birds and release unbanded - a huge number were Goldfinches.Sat. the winds were quiet at 7 am but soon we knew the winds were going to ramp up blowing leaves/pine needles in the nets plus blowing the netting around - a good way of keeping captures down to reasonable numbers. Day started with a Pileated Woodpecker sitting on a dead tree & flew by us - then a Sapsucker flew into a tree by a net - soon we had Flickers, Red-bellied &Downy Woodpeckers landing in a large Ash tree by our banding table - then a major surprise, a male Red-headed Woodpecker made an appearance - missed the Hairy W that is normally there but 6 species of woodpeckers - other species seen on the property were Ravens, juncos, goldfinches, Wht-thr Sparrows & many Bluebirds.On the banding front, we had a nice variety of species to show the participants - Nashville & Palm & Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Brown Creepers, 2 House Finches, 1 male Towhee, male Ruby-cr Kinglet, Chipping & Song Sparrows, Robin, Blk-c Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker- a great chance for the participants to compare many different features on these species - bill shapes, leg lengths, eye colors, feather wear, molt limits - all the tools we need to ID these species, figure out ages [HY or AHY], etc.Finally, the wind gusts did us in, closed the nets, headed for lunch & from there, went to the Uxbridge Community Gardens - a great place for sparrows, raptors, etc Once at the Gardens, we spotted a N Harrier, Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks - the gardens were full of Savannah & Song Sparrow, 1 Swamp and a Wht-crowned Sparrow, Goldfinches - off in the distance some D-C Cormorants & Canada geese were flying over the valley - then a Cooper's Hawk came up from below & flew low over our heads - still high winds Then we left to finish up the day to River Bend Farm where we walked a few trails to enjoy more Ruby-cr Kinglets, Purple Finch, Yellow-rumped Warblers & other expected species - nearby pond had Killdeers, Gt-blue Heron, Mallards & surprisingly a Great Egret.Our day ended with 50 species - thanks to Leslie Bostrom and Lindsay Neubeck, my special volunteers to make this trip so successful for all despite the winds.
