A group of dedicated volunteers gathered last week in the steamy heat to clear the net lanes of vegetation that has grown in since Fall 2024 and put up the nets in preparation for Fall 2025. This is always an exciting time since the whole season is still ahead of us and we wonder what interesting birds it will bring. August generally features a trickle of birds that are already on the move such as American redstarts and Blue-grey gnatcatchers. It is worth it to open the station at this time to get all the new and returning volunteers settled in before the stream of migrants picks up. Mostly we are hoping to band some early species that we have a smaller chance of seeing in September and on, such as Kentucky warbler, Louisiana waterthrush and the stunning Cerulean warbler.
The very first bird banded yesterday was a young male Northern cardinal, a resident species that breeds locally. He was followed by an Ovenbird and a Blue-grey gnatcatcher. Today brought another Ovenbird and added a redstart, Worm-eating warbler and two Black-and-white warblers to the season’s total.
Photos by Steffanie Munguía
Post by Michelle Davis