Here are some cool birdies that I photographed and should have posted while bird banding the past month! Thanks for all your kind comments . . . . you guys are all wonderful!

American Woodcock

Black-throated Green Warbler

Red-eyed Vireo

Northern Waterthrush

Baby Cedar Waxwing

Ovenbird

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See if you know them before you mouse over them:

1

2

3

4

5

6

Answers (in case mousing over didn't reveal the answers already):

1 - Eastern Bluebird
2 - Veery
3 - Swainson's Thrush
4 - Hermit Thrush
5 - Wood Thrush
6 - American Robin

Those all breed in our area.  The 7th migrates through in spring and fall: Gray-cheeked Thrush.  Perhaps I'll get a chance to see one while banding with Scott and his crew?

I thought about writing a bit about each bird, but Chuck Fergus already did such a good job in his Wildlife Notes which you can read by clicking here.

Male:

Female:

The two photos above, by the way, are by an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING nature photographer named Jayne. See more of her photos by clicking here.

To complicate things even further, the babies often look different from the adults.  Look who we caught at SWAT on closing day:

At first glance you might think, "Oh.  Two females!"  You'd be only half right.  The bird on the left is female, the bird on the right is male.  The male has slightly heavier streaking under his neck.  And, if you look closely, you can see that the underwings are differently colored.  The female has yellow underwings, the male red.

Ha!  Switched it!  Male on the left, female on the right in this photo!

Not all birds have such variety in their markings.  Black-capped Chickadee males and females look alike.  Chickadee babies look like poofier versions of their parents.

These differences within and between species sometimes cause problems in bird study protocols.  In Project FeederWatch, for example, citizen scientists are instructed to report for each species the highest number of individuals they see at any one time.  For example, if you look out the window at 7:05am and see 2 Chickadees, then again at 7:15am and see 3 Chickadees, you are to report that you saw 3 Chickadees.  That makes sense, right?  Two of those three Chickadees could be the same two you saw at 7:05.

Now here's the dilemma.  Suppose you look out at 7:05am and see one male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  At 7:15am you see one female Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  How many do you report?  You and I both know you have seen two Grosbeaks!  But if you are going to follow the protocol properly, you must only report one.  (If they come to the feeder together and you see them both at the same time, then you can report 2!)

To many people this doesn't make sense.  But think about it... If a male Chickadee comes to the feeder at 7:05 and a female at 7:15 - you wouldn't know the difference, and you would only report 1.  This protocol and subsequent analysis of the data takes into account the fact that some birds are sexually dimorphic and others are not.

Hmm... that was a little tangent away from Rose-breasted Grosbeaks... That's the way my mind works!

Anyway, if Rose-breasted Grosbeaks provide identification challenges here in the east, imagine what it must be like in the middle of the continent where they interbreed with Black-headed Grosbeaks, sometimes producing offspring with mixed characteristics!  Yikes!

This Black-headed Grosbeak photo is borrowed from the Flickr Collection of Noël Zia Lee. Click here to see more of her amazing photos.

Learn more:

• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Rose-breasted_Grosbeak_dtl.html
• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black-headed_Grosbeak_dtl.html
• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ (Project FeederWatch)

Jeff was one of my Teen Treks kids. He mentioned that he really likes birds and reptiles. I said, "You should come bird banding with me tomorrow." And he did. And he has come several times! He is looking forward to Saw Whets in the fall!

Kyle, a student from Canisius, was my learning buddy at several banding sessions. Here, he is helping Jeff learn how to record data.

A family came biking by and stopped to learn about bird banding. Here is Tyler holding the last bird of the SWAT season: a Magnolia Warbler.

When he went to let it go, it didn't fly right away. I guess it liked Tyler!

Anyway, I rolled out of bed early this morning, chugged a couple of cups of coffee, and hit the road. I was sure I could find today's banding site with no problem; it looked so easy on the map.  Darkness and fog and road construction confused me. I passed The Road twice and found Another Road, but it didn't seem right. I called Scott's house at 6am and got his wife, Pam.

"Did I wake you?"

"That's all right," she said.  "I had to answer the phone anyway."  Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!

A quick correction and I finally found the site.  Don, Linda, Emily, and Amy welcomed me.  They got a chuckle out of my waking Scott.

It's an interesting site.  Four nets are set up on either side of the road.  To the southeast of the road there is a fairly mature forest.  For this photo, I was standing in the cut section looking back across the road toward the forest:

To the northwest, there is an area that was nearly clearcut a while back.  For this photo (in which the sky got over-exposed and I'm not good enough at Photoshop to fix it), I was standing in the forest looking over the road toward the cut:

Part of the project is to determine if birds that breed in the forest interior will use the clearcut when they are done breeding.  I think they have some answers already, but I don't remember...  I was too busy trying to learn about the banding process and about identifying birds!

Most of the birds we took out of the nets I had seen in the hand before at previous banding sessions: American Redstart, Hermit Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow.  But I did have one new one today!!  This one is for Young Naturalist J:)

Ovenbird

When Emily pulled that bird out of the transport bag, I wasn't sure what it was, but "waterthrush" popped into my head.  I was not quite so disappointed with myself for the misidentification when I read this at the Cornell website under the "Similar Species" heading:

Northern and Louisiana waterthrushes similar, but have broad whitish eyestripes, are less round in shape, more dark brown on the back, lack the orange and black crown, and constantly bob their tails.

 The Ovenbird gets its name from the fact that its nest looks like a little oven on the ground with a side entrance.  Tom (aka Monarch) has a photo of one from 2002 on his Flickr site:

Ovenbird Nest (with some Cowbird eggs)

I have more stories to tell, but for now, let me just say thanks to Don, Linda, Emily, and Amy for once again being great teachers.  And let me once again say SORRY to Scott for waking him up.

Learn more about Ovenbirds:

• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ovenbird_dtl.html

This week, I'm trying to learn about Rictal Bristles. At bird banding, I learned where to find them:

Now, what are they?

Well, let's do "rictal" first. (I had never heard that word before starting bird banding, though I had heard a similar word that has nothing to do with this!) From The Free Dictionary:

ric·tus (rkts) n. pl. rictus or ric·tus·es 1. The expanse of an open mouth, a bird's beak, or similar structure. 2. A gaping grimace: "his mouth gaping in a kind of rictus of startled alarm" Richard Adams. rictal adj.

OK, got it! So, rictal has do do with the mouth area, or beak - if you're a bird. And now, rictal bristle, from encyclopedia.com:

rictal bristle

A Dictionary of Zoology | Date: 1999

rictal bristle A stiff, modified feather, with little or no vane, found around the gape of many insectivorous birds, possibly serving to aid the capture of food in flight.

So there you have it. Except, no you don't. Because I kept googling to learn more... And I discovered that there isn't a clear answer as to what the function of the bristles is!

For a long time, scientists assumed that the bristles may help with the capture of insects during flight. However, in one study, this was proven false:

I have direct evidence that, at least in several tyrant flycatchers, rictal bristles perform no function associated with prey capture. With the use of a high-speed motion picture camera, I photographed mid-air captures of flesh flies (Sarcophaga bullata) by the Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe'), Eastern Wood Pewee (Cantopus virens), and some Empidonax species which could not be identified in the film. The films were taken while the birds were confined in a large glass-fronted cage into which the flies were introduced. Photographs. were taken at the rate of 375 frames per second and analyzed on a stop-action projector. Over 30 sequences of prey capture were recorded and in every instance in which a capture or near-capture was made, the insect was caught between the tips of the mandibles. The prey are captured in the bill tips, rather than farther back in the mouth as would be the case if rictal bristles were utilized. (source)

Another study, in which the bristles were either taped or removed, gave similar results: the birds were able to capture food just as easily as when their bristles were untouched. In this study, they found, however, that birds with no bristles were much more likely to be hit in the eyes with flying insects than birds with bristles intact, suggesting that the bristles' function is protection - just as our eyelashes and eyebrows help keep stuff out of our eyes. (source)

The Cornell All-About-Birds site makes these cautious statements:

Rictal bristles project from the beak of many insect-eating birds, including flycatchers, nightjars and even the American Robin. They are believed to provide protection for the bird's eyes as it consumes its wriggly prey. The bristles may also provide tactile feedback, like the whiskers on a dog or cat. (source)

"They are believed to..." "The bristles may..." In other words, scientists aren't really sure what they do!

Learn more:

An American Woodcock! Whoa! Never expected that!

American Woodcocks, also known as Timberdoodles, are probably most well-known for their springtime courting dance. Monarch wrote about it and included a video (dark - but cool because you can hear the sounds). Click here to see (hear) it. And if you have a copy of Aldo Leopold's book A Sand County Almanac, read the essay on Woodcocks... it's brilliant!

The Woodcock is a strange bird. You'll find it with the sandpipers in your field guide. But you'll have to go to the woods, not the beach, to find it outside. It's beak is long and flexible. In the following photo, J had pried the bill open a bit to try to get a peek at the "teeth" and tongue.

I wish I had gotten a picture of what happened next! When J removed his fingers, the upper bill curved, then straightened! Woodcocks poke in the dirt with these long flexible bills probing for earthworms. Their ability to manipulate the end of the bill undoubtedly helps in extracting tasty treats from deep in the soil.

The coloring of a Woodcock makes them excellent at hiding on the forest floor. Many hikers have been startled when one suddenly rises just where a hiking boot was about to tread.

This was a big bird and a strong flier. Tom and J had to work together to band it. First they had to determine the appropriate size band by using a leg gauge.

Once banded, the poor thing had to endure the Bird Paparozzi. I'll bet nearly a hundred photos were taken, many of them by me!

Then Tom let me release it. He took my camera and shot this series:

Good-bye, Woodcock. Live long and prosper!

Learn more:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Woodcock_dtl.html

An American Woodcock!  Whoa!  Never expected that!

American Woodcocks, also known as Timberdoodles, are probably most well-known for their springtime courting dance.  Monarch wrote about it and included a video (dark - but cool because you can hear the sounds).  Click here to see (hear) it.  And if you have a copy of Aldo Leopold's book A Sand County Almanac, read the essay on Woodcocks... it's brilliant!

The Woodcock is a strange bird.  You'll find it with the sandpipers in your field guide.  But you'll have to go to the woods, not the beach, to find it outside.  It's beak is long and flexible.  In the following photo, J had pried the bill open a bit to try to get a peek at the "teeth" and tongue.

I wish I had gotten a picture of what happened next!  When J removed his fingers, the upper bill curved, then straightened!  Woodcocks poke in the dirt with these long flexible bills probing for earthworms.  Their ability to manipulate the end of the bill undoubtedly helps in extracting tasty treats from deep in the soil.

The coloring of a Woodcock makes them excellent at hiding on the forest floor.  Many hikers have been startled when one suddenly rises just where a hiking boot was about to tread.

This was a big bird and a strong flier.  Tom and J had to work together to band it.  First they had to determine the appropriate size band by using a leg gauge.

Once banded, the poor thing had to endure the Bird Paparozzi.  I'll bet nearly a hundred photos were taken, many of them by me!

Then Tom let me release it.  He took my camera and shot this series:

Good-bye, Woodcock.  Live long and prosper!

Learn more:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Woodcock_dtl.html

Whatever the science, it is always thrilling to see an Indigo Bunting! My Sibley's field guide tells me that Indigo Buntings are "common in any open brushy area, including weedy fields and hedge-rows, with trees nearby." The Cornell All-About-Birds website further explains that the Indigo Bunting is "a bird of old fields and roadsides" and that it "prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests."

Both descriptions fit the CLDC bird banding site quite well and we saw what must be a family of buntings on Saturday.

I love how the Cornell website lists "Cool Facts" for each species. Here are the two that intrigued me the most about Indigo Buntings:

1. The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars.
2. Experienced adult Indigo Buntings can return to their previous breeding sites when held captive during the winter and released far from their normal wintering area.

Learn more:

• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Indigo_Bunting_dtl.html
• http://www.kidwings.com/bodyparts/feathers/colors/index.htm

Today I had a wonderful visit by the Birdfreak Blogging Team as they passed through the area while heading to a birding festival (for Swarovski) in Rhode Island. We only had a few hours to chat but we looked for a few birds . . . Little Kingfisher (Dakota’s All Natural Experience) had the opportunity to band some baby Bluebirds . . . . and then headed up to the Thunder Rocks area to climb on some “big” rocks!! I am sure you will see many of Ed’s and Dakota’s pictures on their own blogs within the next few days (so go visit their blogs).  Little Kingfisher told me that if I didn’t go home and blog something . . . . that I would owe him $50 dollars!! I didn’t want to disappoint this great young birder (and owe him $50 bucks) . . . . so here is my blog post for the day!!   :)

Black Bear that I found along the side of the road

I feel bad that I encountered this Black Bear about 10 minutes after they headed East towards their next stop at the Lab of Ornithology. I really would have loved to been able to find a Black Bear for them but I guess this is every reason for them to return for another visit!!   Thanks for stopping by guys!

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Sometimes you can use the plumage to figure out age. Sometimes, wear on the feathers gives you a clue. Last Monday, Tom was a bit baffled by a Yellow Warbler and chose to use "skulling". In this technique, the bander wets the feathers on the bird's head to facilitate moving them aside and taking a peak through the skin to the skull. A bander proficient in this technique can use what he or she observes as clues to the age of the bird.

Our little Yellow Warbler had quite the funky do when Tom was done with him!

Isn't he cute? Actually, it might have been a "she". Yeah, figuring out that part can be hard sometimes, too.

Learn more:

Monitoring Landbirds

If Tom ever leaves World of Warcraft and posts his pictures, I'll put one here showing him taking the Sharp-shinned Hawk out of the net (which I took with Tom's camera as mine was back on the picnic table).

Here it is after banding:

Kyle and I played Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who would get to release it. I lost. Here's the handoff to Kyle:

And here is Kyle, demonstrating the Lolli-pop hold shortly before releasing it:

I was pretty pleased with the way this closeup turned out... especially the reflection in the bird's eye:

From the Cornell Website:

A small hawk, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is a regular visitor to bird feeders, where it eats birds, not seed. The male and female show a greater disparity in size than any other American hawk; the female is nearly twice the weight of the male.

I wish I had paid more attention to whether this one was male or female. I was just so excited that it was a hawk!

Learn more:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk_dtl.html

It was also the most different species I've seen to date on a single morning AND one species I really wasn't expecting! (I'll save him till last...)

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

Northern Waterthrush

Black-capped Chickadee (and my favorite niece*)

Cedar Waxwing (and my favorite sister*)

Dark-eyed Junco

American Goldfinch

Purple Finch

Magnolia Warbler

Veery

I didn't photograph dozens of birds - American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Swamp Sparrows, Song Sparrows, American Robin, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, perhaps others, I can't remember... And I'm saving the Yellow Warbler for a separate post...

And the big surprise??? Aw... I think I'll save him till tomorrow. (You'll have to wait... Unless Tom breaks his World of Warcraft binge and decides to blog tonight... hmmm.... (or you check my Flickr Photostream to get a sneak preview...)). He deserves his own blog post...

*OK, you caught me! I only have one niece. And I only have one sister.

Now here's dad:

In Common Yellowthroats, the boys and girls look quite different.

Now here's a pair that is NOT dimorphic (at least not visually - from a distance):

Red-eyed Vireo

Can you tell the boy from the girl? I'll give you a hint... I'm holding the boy and Tom is holding the girl. (What, you can't tell my hand from his?) OK, I'll tell you: The boy is on the left and the girl is on the right. I only know this, because we examined them carefully while banding them. The male Red-eyed Vireo is supposed to be slightly larger than the female, though they look pretty close in size here.

At a previous banding session, Tom had mentioned something about how in some species of birds, the boy will help incubate eggs. In species that do that, the plumage of males and females is often quite similar. The Red-eyed Vireo proved that out. The boy had a partial brood patch. The female's belly was quite interesting: She not only had a brood patch, but her belly was quite distended. We think she was about to drop an egg!

We had a lot of birds at that net check, so I didn't get a picture of the Vireos' bellies. But I did get one of a female Common Yellowthroat. The brood patch is skin on her belly that she can put directly on the eggs when incubating. The lack of insulation allows her body heat to transfer more effectively to the eggs:

Learn more:

• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Yellowthroat.html
• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-eyed_Vireo.html

Now here's dad:

In Common Yellowthroats, the boys and girls look quite different.

Now here's a pair that is NOT dimorphic (at least not visually - from a distance):

Red-eyed Vireo

Can you tell the boy from the girl?  I'll give you a hint... I'm holding the boy and Tom is holding the girl.  (What, you can't tell my hand from his?)  OK, I'll tell you:  The boy is on the left and the girl is on the right.  I only know this, because we examined them carefully while banding them.  The male Red-eyed Vireo is supposed to be slightly larger than the female, though they look pretty close in size here.

At a previous banding session, Tom had mentioned something about how in some species of birds, the boy will help incubate eggs.  In species that do that, the plumage of males and females is often quite similar.  The Red-eyed Vireo proved that out.  The boy had a partial brood patch.  The female's belly was quite interesting:  She not only had a brood patch, but her belly was quite distended.  We think she was about to drop an egg!

We had a lot of birds at that net check, so I didn't get a picture of the Vireos' bellies.  But I did get one of a female Common Yellowthroat.  The brood patch is skin on her belly that she can put directly on the eggs when incubating.  The lack of insulation allows her body heat to transfer more effectively to the eggs:

Learn more:

• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Yellowthroat.html
• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-eyed_Vireo.html

Early morning and later in the evening before sunset the activity is high around each feeder.  The hummers are buzzing, chattering, chasing each other off 'their' feeder  and eating and eating and eating and eating. A dear friend gave me a pottery plaque "Bird and Breakfast" and for four months our bed and breakfast also becomes just that a bird and breakfast.

It is fun to watch the camera/people shy little birds trying to avoid our guests.  If the guests go to one feeder the birds go the one farthest away.  The guests move closer and the birds move back to the first one and on it goes. Those with the telphotos or a great deal of patience manage to get some great pictures.

When the were here banding the little birds they would catch them in the net then gently wrap them in a little blanket to keep them from flying off.  They checked many things such as sex, weight, length of bill, species, whether they are carrying or have laid an egg etc.  They did all of this with great care and just before they released them they put a tiny band on a tiny leg, gave them a drink then let them fly away. It was quite a process to watch. 

Around the beginning of July the birds start to move on and Rick starts taking down the feeders. By the end of July we only have a couple of pair of Anna's that stay until later fall so we leave one feeder up for them. We always miss them when they leave but we know that next year they will return hungry as ever!

One of our guests apologized for not eating all of their breakfast. She said "it was delicious and she hated to leave it, but she ate like a bird at breakfast".  I didn't tell her that I heard birds ate their weight every day! 

This morning I mixed organic Apple juice and Blueberry juice and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on top. Not a drop was left.

Yup. I'm a Flycatcher... But which one?

Until the 1970s there were Traill's Flycatchers. Since then, there are Willow Flycatchers and Alder Flycatchers. The most reliable way to tell them apart is by their songs and they rarely sing in the hand. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing between these two in the hand, bird banders still use the term Traill's Flycatchers for both.

It was interesting to watch Tom try to puzzle out the species. In addition to the usual wing measurement and weight, he also measured the tail, the nare-to-tip length of the beak, and the width of the beak. He looked at wing shape and beak shape. He compared all his measurements and observations to a chart on page 219 of the bird-bander's guide by Pyle.

Willow Flycatchers breed in moist, shrubby areas where thre is running or standing water. This certainly describes the SWAT site where we were banding. Their song is "fitz-bew" which Tom claims to have heard around the SWAT site. Listen to it from Cornell by clicking here.

Audubon has watchlisted this bird "Yellow" which is less serious than Red:

YELLOW: this category includes species that are either declining or rare. These typically are species of national conservation concern.

Alder Flycatchers breed in wet thickets of alder, maple, and birch. Well, I suppose that type of habitat can be found around SWAT, too, but seems more like the CLDC station. The Cornell website describes their song as a "harsh, ripping 'f-bee-oo'" and their call as "an emphatic 'pip'." Listen to it by clicking here.

While some birds learn their songs and calls, these two Flycatchers seemed to know their own songs and calls by instinct. The Cornell site tells us:

In an experiment on song learning, Alder Flycatchers were "tutored" with Willow Flycatcher song in the first two months of life. The next spring, the Alder Flycatchers sang normal Alder Flycatcher song.

My beak is open, but I refuse to sing!

Now, the two names Willow Flycatcher and Alder Flycatcher are rather descriptive. You may wonder, as I did, where the name "Traill's Flycatcher" came from. In surfing around the net for information, I stumbled across something hidden on the National Audubon website that appears to be a collection of journal entries transcribed from John James Audubon's work, along with photographs of his paintings. You can click below to see the full account, but here is the pertinent passage:

I have named this species after my learned friend Dr. THOMAS STEWART TRAILL Of Edinburgh, in evidence of the gratitude which I cherish towards that gentleman for all his kind attentions to me.

Learn more:

• Audubon Watchlist - Willow Flycatcher: http://audubon2.org/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=217
• Willow Flycatcher - Cornell: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Willow_Flycatcher_dtl.html
• Alder Flycatcher - Cornell: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Alder_Flycatcher_dtl.html
• Traill's Flycatcher Account by John James Audubon (I assume): http://www.audubon.org/bird/BoA/F7_G2l.html

Yup.  I'm a Flycatcher... But which one?

Until the 1970s there were Traill's Flycatchers.  Since then, there are Willow Flycatchers and Alder Flycatchers.  The most reliable way to tell them apart is by their songs and they rarely sing in the hand.  Because of the difficulty in distinguishing between these two in the hand, bird banders still use the term Traill's Flycatchers for both.

It was interesting to watch Tom try to puzzle out the species.  In addition to the usual wing measurement and weight, he also measured the tail, the nare-to-tip length of the beak, and the width of the beak.  He looked at wing shape and beak shape.  He compared all his measurements and observations to a chart on page 219 of the bird-bander's guide by Pyle.

Willow Flycatchers breed in moist, shrubby areas where thre is running or standing water.  This certainly describes the SWAT site where we were banding.  Their song is "fitz-bew" which Tom claims to have heard around the SWAT site.  Listen to it from Cornell by clicking  here.

Audubon has watchlisted this bird "Yellow" which is less serious than Red:

YELLOW: this category includes species that are either declining or rare. These typically are species of national conservation concern. 

Alder Flycatchers breed in wet thickets of alder, maple, and birch.  Well, I suppose that type of habitat can be found around SWAT, too, but seems more like the CLDC station.  The Cornell website describes their song as a "harsh, ripping 'f-bee-oo'" and their call as "an emphatic 'pip'."  Listen to it by clicking here.

While some birds learn their songs and calls, these two Flycatchers seemed to know their own songs and calls by instinct.  The Cornell site tells us:

In an experiment on song learning, Alder Flycatchers were "tutored" with Willow Flycatcher song in the first two months of life. The next spring, the Alder Flycatchers sang normal Alder Flycatcher song.

My beak is open, but I refuse to sing!

Now, the two names Willow Flycatcher and Alder Flycatcher are rather descriptive.  You may wonder, as I did, where the name "Traill's Flycatcher" came from.  In surfing around the net for information, I stumbled across something hidden on the National Audubon website that appears to be a collection of journal entries transcribed from John James Audubon's work, along with photographs of his paintings.  You can click below to see the full account, but here is the pertinent passage:

I have named this species after my learned friend Dr. THOMAS STEWART TRAILL Of Edinburgh, in evidence of the gratitude which I cherish towards that gentleman for all his kind attentions to me.

Learn more:

• Audubon Watchlist - Willow Flycatcher: http://audubon2.org/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=217
• Willow Flycatcher - Cornell: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Willow_Flycatcher_dtl.html
• Alder Flycatcher - Cornell: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Alder_Flycatcher_dtl.html
• Traill's Flycatcher Account by John James Audubon (I assume): http://www.audubon.org/bird/BoA/F7_G2l.html

Red-winged Blackbird, Female

It doesn't show terrifically well in this photo, but look closely at the top of her wing. I had no idea when looking at these birds in the field that the female has a bit of red on her wing, too. I thought she was all brown. When I searched Tom's photostream in Flickr to find a picture of the male, I found this picture of a female that he took in June 2006. Look at all THAT red!

Another Red-winged Blackbird Female

Maybe next time we'll catch the male.

This is a great time of year for learning about all the plumage differences in birds - male vs female, juvenile vs adult. I borrowed the picture of the male at right from Tom (again)... We didn't catch a male yesterday. But we did catch Mother and Fledgling:

Common Yellowthroat Mother and Child

Once again, we caught several American Redstarts. Their changes in plumage are quite dramatic. This fellow provided quite a lesson in feather moult and regrowth:

American Redstart, Male

He was born last year. He has mostly adult feathers, but still some first year feathers:

Eventually, the feathers with yellow will be replaced with feathers like those on the left - with orange.

Here are two views of another American Redstart male - younger. Notice that his head is still gray, not black:

And his wing feathers are all yellow, no hint of orange:

American Redstart, Male

There were plenty more birds, and there was plenty more learning... But I have to get ready for work now... So I'll save them for future posts.

Red-winged Blackbird, Female

It doesn't show terrifically well in this photo, but look closely at the top of her wing.  I had no idea when looking at these birds in the field that the female has a bit of red on her wing, too.  I thought she was all brown.  When I searched Tom's photostream in Flickr to find a picture of the male, I found this picture of a female that he took in June 2006.  Look at all THAT red!

Another Red-winged Blackbird Female

Maybe next time we'll catch the male.

This is a great time of year for learning about all the plumage differences in birds - male vs female, juvenile vs adult.  I borrowed the picture of the male at right from Tom (again)...  We didn't catch a male yesterday.  But we did catch Mother and Fledgling:

Common Yellowthroat Mother and Child

Once again, we caught several American Redstarts.  Their changes in plumage are quite dramatic.  This fellow provided quite a lesson in feather moult and regrowth:

American Redstart, Male

He was born last year.  He has mostly adult feathers, but still some first year feathers:

Eventually, the feathers with yellow will be replaced with feathers like those on the left - with orange.

Here are two views of another American Redstart male - younger.  Notice that his head is still gray, not black:

And his wing feathers are all yellow, no hint of orange:

American Redstart, Male

There were plenty more birds, and there was plenty more learning... But I have to get ready for work now... So I'll save them for future posts.

Last Saturday we had a scarlet of a day banding at the CLDC station! We capture 10 different species and handled 36 individuals (18 newly banded birds and 18 recaptured birds)! Highlights were the Scarlet Tanager, Blue-winged Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Cedar Waxwing! Will turn this into an “almost” Wordless Wednesday! The pictures will tell you how exciting our day went!

Young Naturalist J taking the Tanager Out!

”Baby” Blue-winged Warblers

Jen and one of the catbirds!

”Baby” Gray Catbird

The monarch we kept on passing!

The mon@rch photo that Jen captured (not chewing)!

Black Raspberry Treats

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1. Ruth had just started working at Audubon and we were taking her on a walk around Big Pond.  There he sat on a branch directly above the trail.
2. Backpacking with Mary and lots of little girls...  Chip-BURR.  Chip-BURR.  Mary's backpack was off in a flash and she was fumbling with her binoculars.  "Scarlet Tanager!  Scarlet Tanager!"  She listened and looked and finally spotted him.  We rested here for a while and watched him foraging for insects.
3. A leisurely afternoon walk at Bentley Sanctuary... sitting on a bench with the tall, tall trees above me...  And there he was, directly overhead.
4. Coffee on Terry's back porch and there sat a male in the cedars on the edge of the yard.
5. A week ago at the CLDC banding station with Tom and friends - flitting in the aspens on the forest edge.  (Jeff willed him to go into a net, but it would be a week before he complied!)
6. And then there was yesterday...

Yesterday, Jordan took a gorgeous male from the net.  And then, though Tom offered the honor of banding the bird to him, Jordan deferred and let me band him.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop.  (Thanks again, Jordan!)

Modest Photographer, Tom LeBlanc, took these photos...

Scarlet Tanagers tend to be birds of the forest interior and most of my sightings have been in such habitat.  Seeing one on the edge of a forest seemed unusual.  When I started surfing about the internet for more information about Tanagers I found that Cornell enlisted the help of citizen volunteers to collect data for three years, from 1993 to 1996, on tanagers and forest fragmentation.  Tanagers were selected as the main species for Project Tanager because their habitat needs are similar to those of many forest interior species.

As I hopped from link to link learning about Scarlet Tanagers and forest fragmentation, I think the most interesting thing I learned was about a shift in the thinking for wildlife management.  There was a time when landowners were encouraged to create as much "edge" habitat as possible, because when you create edges (between forest and field) you increase the diversity of wildlife.  However, when you take a step back and look at the situation more broadly, here's what really happens:  Local diversity may be increased, but regional diversity decreases.  It's a tradeoff:  You get more species arriving that like edge habitat, but the species that prefer deep woods disappear.

As a result of the Cornell study, different land management techniques are recommended to maintain diversity on a broader scale.  Click on the links below to learn more.

Isn't it fascinating how one little bird can teach you so much about the world around you?

Learn more:

• Cornell - All about Birds
• Cornell - Tanager Conservation

1. Ruth had just started working at Audubon and we were taking her on a walk around Big Pond. There he sat on a branch directly above the trail.
2. Backpacking with Mary and lots of little girls... Chip-BURR. Chip-BURR. Mary's backpack was off in a flash and she was fumbling with her binoculars. "Scarlet Tanager! Scarlet Tanager!" She listened and looked and finally spotted him. We rested here for a while and watched him foraging for insects.
3. A leisurely afternoon walk at Bentley Sanctuary... sitting on a bench with the tall, tall trees above me... And there he was, directly overhead.
4. Coffee on Terry's back porch and there sat a male in the cedars on the edge of the yard.
5. A week ago at the CLDC banding station with Tom and friends - flitting in the aspens on the forest edge. (Jeff willed him to go into a net, but it would be a week before he complied!)
6. And then there was yesterday...

Yesterday, Jordan took a gorgeous male from the net. And then, though Tom offered the honor of banding the bird to him, Jordan deferred and let me band him. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. (Thanks again, Jordan!)

Modest Photographer, Tom LeBlanc, took these photos...

Scarlet Tanagers tend to be birds of the forest interior and most of my sightings have been in such habitat. Seeing one on the edge of a forest seemed unusual. When I started surfing about the internet for more information about Tanagers I found that Cornell enlisted the help of citizen volunteers to collect data for three years, from 1993 to 1996, on tanagers and forest fragmentation. Tanagers were selected as the main species for Project Tanager because their habitat needs are similar to those of many forest interior species.

As I hopped from link to link learning about Scarlet Tanagers and forest fragmentation, I think the most interesting thing I learned was about a shift in the thinking for wildlife management. There was a time when landowners were encouraged to create as much "edge" habitat as possible, because when you create edges (between forest and field) you increase the diversity of wildlife. However, when you take a step back and look at the situation more broadly, here's what really happens: Local diversity may be increased, but regional diversity decreases. It's a tradeoff: You get more species arriving that like edge habitat, but the species that prefer deep woods disappear.

As a result of the Cornell study, different land management techniques are recommended to maintain diversity on a broader scale. Click on the links below to learn more.

Isn't it fascinating how one little bird can teach you so much about the world around you?

Learn more:

• Cornell - All about Birds
• Cornell - Tanager Conservation

The Gray Catbird baby was also not interested in having its picture taken:

The House Wren, however, was very cooperative:

I misidentified this one, for example.  Before you mouse over it, make your guess...

Did you guess Louisiana Waterthrush?  I didn't.  I guessed Northern Waterthrush, which supposedly is yellower than this one.  Based on pictures in the field guide and on Cornell's website though, I'm still confused...  The songs are way different, though... but we never heard this one sing...

I did get this one right:

Hermit Thrush!  Yeah me.

This is the first Black-capped Chickadee I've seen in a mist net:

I now know why the banders aren't anxious to find them in the nets!  The poor little dear was hopelessly tangled.  But with infinite patience, Tom managed to get him out.

There were several American Redstarts in the nets... This male was very pretty:

Sometimes an ID pops into my head the moment I see a bird in the net, but then I doubt myself.  After checking and double-checking, I discovered I was right on this one:

Hooded Warbler.  Yeah me, again!

There were lots more birds, some of which I photographed, and others that got processed and released so fast that I couldn't keep up.  One of the highlights, though, was a bird we couldn't band:

Tom isn't licensed to band hummingbirds.  We brought her back anyway for photos, lessons, and to weigh her:  4 grams (0.141 ounces)!  Isn't she so dear?

Thanks Tom, for all the great learning!