The passerine banding operation has been going since August 1, and its been very exciting so far: numbers have been unusually high. Some of the birds passerine bander Dave Grosshuesch is seeing now include large numbers of Nashville Warblers, a lot of Mourning Warblers, and good numbers of Tennessee Warblers. The warbler migration is in full swing! Nineteen species of warblers have so far been banded at the station; highlights include Connecticut Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Wilsons Warbler, Canada Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, and Northern Waterthrush. All three flycatcher regulars, Least, Traills, and Yellow-bellied, have been making regular appearances, plus an Eastern Phoebe. Daves total is 1100 birds over 13 days of banding (~6 hours each), about twice the normal numberfor reasons unknown. The rest of the season could prove to be interesting.
Exciting, rare, and unusual glimpses this week: Dave Grosshuesch caught and banded a Carolina Wren this morning! The bird was a hatch year (meaning it hatched this year). It was obviously a first for Hawk Ridge; in fact, there are only a handful of St. Louis County records for this species. The passerine excitement continues! More Hawk Ridge News can be found on our website: http://www.hawkridge.org/news.htm __________________________________ Debbie Waters, Education Director Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory P.O. Box 3006 Duluth, MN 55803-3006 (218) 428-6209 [email protected] www.hawkridge.org "I am a predator. I hunt for knowledge!" --4th grader, Northern Lights Elementary "Migration--it's a family tradition!" --4th grader, Great Lakes Elementary
