After several days of rain keeping us from working, we were finally able to get a few days of mist netting in during a break from the weather. On Wednesday the 5th I worked at a nearby offsite (Uppers) with Sandra, a fellow bander from Colombia. While the day was fairly slow- we caught 5 birds-  it was a nice to get back out into the field again. We were able to catch 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 2 Bewick’s Wrens. Both of the Bewick’s Wrens were color-banded meaning that they have A) been previously caught before, and B) they are part of the long-term monitoring program here at Palo. Our color-banded study species include Song Sparrow, Wrentit, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Bewick’s Wren, Western Scrub-Jay, and the Nuttall’s subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow.

Yesterday the 6th Sandra, Marika and I banded at Pine Gulch, and off-site that is 15 minutes from the field station and lays directly adjacent to Bolinas Lagoon. So even if it is not busy we can watch water birds and raptors with ease. Birds that we have been seeing lately on the lagoon have included recent arrivals of Caspian Terns along with the usual Western, California and Ring-billed Gulls, 10 or so species of ducks and geese such as both wigeon, N. Pintail, and G. Scaup, and a large variety of shorebirds like Willets, Long-billed Curlews, and American Avocets. So it goes without saying that it is a favorite site among many of our banders, and the banding there is not bad either.

In fact, yesterday proved to be the busiest day of banding since I started March 11th. We captured 28 birds with the majority being White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Song, and Fox Sparrows. In fact at one net we caught 10 of the Zonotrichia sparrows at once at one time. It was quite unexpected and since we misplaced some of the bags we use to transport them I had to radio for help to extract the birds. 2 bird bags for 10 birds just doesn’t work.

Other highlights included a Myrtle’s Yellow-rumped Warbler and a near capture immature Cooper’s Hawk. I say near capture because the bird was in the net, but upon my arrival was able to free itself before I could get within 10 meters of it. The Yellow-rumped Warbler had eucalyptus sap on its bill which is becoming a large problem here in coastal CA where the Eucalyptus trees are so common. It appears that birds that forage in the trees collect the tree’s sap on their bill, which over time hardens, blocking the birds nares, thus preventing them from properly breathing. This is an issue that I will talk more about when I learn more information on it in the upcoming weeks.

~Chad (4/7/2006)

PS. Happy B-day Ma