The weather report predicted cooler today, but it really didn’t seem that way. Only banded 14 birds, plus caught 4 birds that we had banded in prior years, including a Chat that we banded as an adult in 2006!
Our excitement for the day was catching a banded Broad-tailed Hummingbird. As most of you know, we do not band hummingbirds, which require an additional license and different bands. However, each season we catch a few in the nets, admire them and then release. I removed this lovely adult male from the net and turned to a small group of visiting children with parents and said, “Look at the tiny little legs”, followed by “Holy cow, this bird has a band!” The Bird Banding Lab reports that the bird was banded at Fort Davis, TX, as a hatch year bird in October, 2010. Hope to get in touch with the bander to get more information about this banding operation. We caught a female at the same time, so this may very well be a breeding pair at Chatfield.
Here’s the breakdown for the day:
Black-capped Chickadee 1
House Wren 3 new, 1 return (banded 5/19/09)
Yellow Warbler 2 new, 1 return (banded 5/13/12)
Yellow-breasted Chat 2 returns (1 banded 5/27/11 and the other banded 5/21/06)
Brewer’s Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Open daily, weather permitting, through June 2. Hope for cooler weather!
Meredith McBurney
Biologist/Bander
Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
303-329-8091
Celebrating 25 Years of Bird and Habitat Conservation
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