We banded this American redstart today that may be a gynandromorph; a bird with both male and female characteristics. This condition can be caused by a bird possessing both testes and ovaries. We have captured several Black-throated blue warblers with this plumage aberration over the years, but this is the first redstart we have seen. The bird looks largely like an adult male, but has a grayer wash to the head, some green and orange in the back, and the flight feathers are brownish rather than black.
Abundant nighttime rainfall was largely responsible for the respectable 225 birds banded in late August. The popcorn Gulf Stream thunderstorms usually died down shortly after sunrise so we were able to run the nets, although some days were soggier than others. Nothing unusual was moving through the area, but it will be interesting to see if circulation around the backside of TS Hermine brings us a larger pulse of migrants later this week. Early-season migrants generally seem to move down in a steady, light stream and are less front-driven, probably because fronts rarely make it this far south in August. The flow of migrants will keep building up throughout September and peak in early to mid-October.
August Total: 225 birds of 17 species
American redstart: 49
Worm-eating warbler: 33
Ovenbird: 30
Black-and-white warbler: 27
Blue-gray gnatcatcher: 24
Northern waterthrush: 23
Prairie warbler: 10
Common grackle: 8
Northern cardinal: 6
Black-throated blue warbler: 4
Swainson’s warbler; 3
Yellow-billed cuckoo: 2
Northern parula: 2
Alder flycatcher: 1
Great crested flycatcher: 1
Red-eyed vireo: 1
Prothonotary warbler: 1
A gynandromorph! Fascinating!
I second the motion on the great start!