The second MAPS banding session at Rollins Savanna this season took place on Friday, June 11. Again we lucked out with the weather; rain was threatening for most of the morning but nothing came down until after the nets were put away.
This session was a bit more relaxed than the first time, with a higher ratio of banders to birds. I banded five birds: COYE [Common Yellowthroat]; AMRO [American Robin]; BRTH [Brown Thrasher]; TRES [Tree Swallow]; and SOSP [Song Sparrow]. Again Janice Sweet was taking photographs of the day’s activities, and I was delighted to find she had captured shots four of the five birds I banded!
Common Yellowthroat, photo by Janice Sweet
We band the birds on their right legs. Here you can see I am holding the bird and controlling the right leg as the pliers approach the leg with the band.
American Robin, photo by Janice Sweet
Brown Thrasher, photo by Janice Sweet
Tree Swallow, photo by Janice Sweet
Here’s an image of me transferring the Tree Swallow from the photographer’s hold to the bander’s hold. See my right index and middle fingers are spread apart, ready to hold the bird’s head and neck gently but firmly.
Tree Swallow, photo by Janice Sweet
By the way, you might notice I’m wearing the same shirt as last week – I Put Out For Birds. It got stained (ruined) the first week, so it’s now my banding shirt forevermore.
We had the first juveniles caught for the season: a WBNU [White-breasted Nuthatch] and a DOWO [Downy Woodpecker]. The DOWO was extremely cute, as you can see:
Baby Downy Woodpecker, photo by blogger
Since it wasn’t too busy for most of the day, we had more time for photos. I managed to post a picture of the baby Downy Woodpecker to Facebook while in the field.
Shooting a Downy Woodpecker with an iPhone, photo by Janice Sweet
Late in the morning we were treated to a visit by a Great Spangled Fritillary, who posed on all sorts of objects on our banding table.
Great Spangled Fritillary, photo by Janice Sweet
Great Spangled Fritillary, photo by Janice Sweet
Finally, a Blue Jay provided comic relief when it held tightly onto some prized seeds while it was being processed. Those tasty seeds may have saved the bander from a bite or two.
Blue Jay bites seeds while being examined, photo by Janice Sweet
Blue Jay with seeds in beak, photo by Janice Sweet
Many thanks again to Janice Sweet for the use of her photos. The third session took place on June 20th — with highlights coming soon!
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