The Fall 2015 banding season started with a slow day on August 20. There was a lull in migration after some nice movements earlier in the month before we were open. The woods were silent except for the din of cicadas.
We have a new net this year. It is a canopy net and it can be raised to the top of two 20-foot poles to mistnet some of the birds in the treetops. Some species (such as Tennessee warbler and summer tanager) prefer to stay high and are under-sampled at CFBS since the canopy height continues to get taller as the young forest ages. Fruit also is plentiful higher up; Virginia creeper and ficus berries are especially popular with migrants of many species.
Today we had a small but diverse burst of migrants come through the Cape. One of the highlights was this female Hooded warbler. Notice the large eyes, wide bill and ‘rictal bristles’ around the base of the mouth. These are adaptations to foraging for flying insects in the low-light conditions of deep forest understory.
Worm-eating warblers are here! These feisty birds are one of our most common early season migrants, peaking in numbers in mid-September. They use their strong bills to pry open dead rolled-up leaves to get at grubs inside.
Congratulations on the start of a new banding season. The canopy net looks great. I enjoy reading this blog. Love the little details and tidbits you provide with each photo. Must be amazing to see wide eyes, strong bills and rictal bristles up close.
I might have to use that in my internet dating profile. ‘Looking for wide eyes and a strong bill. Would like to get close to your rictal bristles’ 😛
HAHAHAHAHAHA!