My life is about living with nature – here you can live it with me!

4th of July Banding

Hooded Warbler
Hooded Warbler

We had another SWAT MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) banding session last Friday. It was a “bang” of a day with 12 species captured and 36 captures (28 newly banded and 8 birds recaptured).

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak ‘bite”

I enjoyed giving some challenging baby bird quizzes to the banding assistants (Kyle and Jennifer)! Some of these babies were right out of the nest fledglings which are not that easy!! But they did an amazing job with their identification of the birds. Although I wasn’t able to trick Young Naturalist J but he did missed a few good species while taking his 2 hour nap!! Although I didn’t give him too much crap about the nap since he had his eyes puff up due to allergies.

Yellow Warbler
”baby” Yellow Warbler

American Redstart was the most numerous species captured and I think my favorite bird of the day was the Louisiana Waterthrush. Other great birds included Swamp Sparrow, Hooded Warbler, Hermit Thrush, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Overall it was a great banding day and I think the birds were good because of the decent weather we had!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird


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19 responses

  1. Tom…I mean this when I say it…when I open your blog – my heart almost stops when I see the quality of your images!!! How stunning your work is with the banding photos and the others as well!

    8 July 2008 at 9:09 pm

  2. Fantastic pics, Tom! I am always amazed at the gorgeous birds you get to handle.

    8 July 2008 at 9:24 pm

  3. Wow, that hummingbird is amazing! I envy that you can see these birds up close like this. Wonderful 4th photos!

    8 July 2008 at 9:26 pm

  4. Marg

    I’m so jealous! I want to be there! I miss banding
    Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

    oh yeah great shots! love them all but I think especially the hummer bill!

    8 July 2008 at 9:58 pm

  5. I’m with Bird Girl–you do have heart stopping images. Holding a hummingbird in your hand? Oh my.

    8 July 2008 at 10:20 pm

  6. I’m with the rest of your rather discerning commenters – your banding shots are always amazing!

    8 July 2008 at 11:05 pm

  7. Wow, how great to get fledglings! Boy, too bad about YNJ’s eyes. Allergies are a bummer. Beautiful shots of the birds!

    8 July 2008 at 11:29 pm

  8. Terrific photos as always, Tom! I so enjoy reading your blog.

    9 July 2008 at 12:11 am

  9. That hummingbird shot really puts it in perspective how tiny it is. I rarely see them sitting still so don’t have something to contrast it to. I’ll go with the popular description of “amazing” for that and the others of your photos. Always a pleasure to see them…

    9 July 2008 at 2:26 am

  10. Lisa at Greenbow

    I can imagine how well you know your birds what with being able to be so intimate with them during banding season.

    9 July 2008 at 6:34 am

  11. What wonderful pictures, especially the fledglings. Can’t say enough about how much I enjoy your blog.

    9 July 2008 at 8:23 am

  12. Ha, that grossbeak seems a bit peeved at being caught.

    9 July 2008 at 9:36 am

  13. Enjoyed the photo of the grosbeak bite! I thought they were so sweet – they’re pretty tame around my feeders – now I know!! (P.S. Are you photos digiscoped? If not – what is the excellent camera you are using? Great shots!)
    Shelley

    9 July 2008 at 4:22 pm

  14. @ Bird Girl – Thanks and you are “VERY” kind!~
    @ Liza – thanks!
    @ Misti – thanks and it is fun seeing them up close!
    @ Marg – 😦 we miss ya!
    @ KGMom – they are so light you don’t even notice them! Thanks and you guys are all so kind!
    @ Mike – Thanks!
    @ Linda – Allergies are a bummer but he was better after a quick 2 hour nap! Thanks
    @ Debbie – Thanks and glad you enjoy!
    @ Rondi – They are very tiny! Thanks for your kind words!
    @ Lisa – You see them differently than others see them while banding!
    @ ncmountainwoman, thanks and glad you enjoy!
    @ scienceguy – Thanks!
    @ Shelley – thanks and I have three cameras! SONY Cybershot, Nikon D70s and Nikon D300 (my baby)! I use the D300 with a 400mm lens and the SONY Cybershot for all macro shots!

    9 July 2008 at 9:00 pm

  15. More great shots Tom, the Hummingbird is amazing, I take it you like the D300 🙂

    10 July 2008 at 5:33 pm

  16. The baby yellow warbler is sooo cute! I love the way it is looking straight into the camera.

    11 July 2008 at 8:51 pm

  17. Love that first shot..what a beautiful bird! Very nice close~up!
    Have a great weekend!
    Cat

    11 July 2008 at 10:03 pm

  18. I never tire seeing baby pictures.

    12 July 2008 at 9:04 pm

  19. That’s one long beak for such a tiny little hummingbird!

    14 July 2008 at 9:13 pm

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