At Springbrook Nature Center's birdbanding project this morning we captured, banded, and released 110 birds representing 18 species! A lot of new migrants just arrived, and were looking for food on this cold and windy day with occaisional snowflakes.
We caught several Orange Crowned Warblers including this "after second year" male. The males have more orange on their heads than the females. The orange feathers in the crown are usually hidden and can only be seen when the wind blows the covering feathers apart.
We also caught this Black and White warbler. Black and Whites are early migrants and are often seen catching insects on the trunks of trees
We caught four Lincoln Sparrows, a special treat as we seldom see them. This one will join the others migrating farther north in Minnesota to nest.
The wing of a Northern Flicker woodpecker demonstrates that this is the "Yellow Shafted" form. The Red Shafted form is found in the western US and rarely seen this far east. This one was a brightly colored male.
In this picture you can see the Northern Flicker while we were banding it. The aluminum band is on its leg. The black mustache is what identifies this as a male.
After measuring, weighing, and collecting additional data, the birds are released as quickly as possible.
Next banding date is Saturday, May 12, beginning at 6:30 AM to 11:30.
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