Sunday, September 21, 2008

Large female Cooper's Hawk hits the net and We win!

A Northeast wind produced a slower day. However, there was and is a good variety of birds around to enjoy. The day’s catch consisted of 45 new birds with 13 recaptures including 15 species. The majority of the recaptures are thrushes and catbirds again. Nine warbler species were netted or observed at the site. Highlights for the day are: one big female Cooper’s Hawk, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Bay-breasted Warbler, and another Brown Creeper. The immature Cooper’s Hawk made the crew oohh and ahh! The talons on this bird were over an inch in length. They are no match for any songbird.

Top 5 Species and Number Banded
Swainson’s Thrush -20
Gray-cheeked Thrush -7
Gray Catbird -4
Magnolia Warbler -3
Veery -2
Cooper’s Hawk has vertical stripes on the breast and the eye is still gray. By next spring the eye color will be yellow. By three years the eye color will be orange to red and the breast will have rusty horizontal barring instead of the vertical brown streaks.
Take time to enjoy the season!

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