I was bringing in a Veery when I heard some noise over at net 10. I strode over to see a Chickadee in the net about midway down. I was hanging the bag containing the Verry when it up an bolted straight back out again! Dang.
Don't fear, though, as our day ended with a return visit.
The Veerys were increasing in numbers. I was very pleased with this shot. Make it look so soft and fluffy.
The first real surprise of the day was our first of the season Worm-eating Warbler. I think we may have had only 1 last year but it could have been zero.
That was good enough but the best was yet to come. The guys making a net run showed up all excited and announcing they had retreived an Acadian Flycatcher. Excellent! However, when it was brought out of the bag it looked a bit more suspicious to me.
More like a Traill's Flycatcher. Different feather coloration than an Acadian. Different shape to me, too.
We took measurements to eliminate certain species but I kept seeing that open mouth every other time I turned around. Very yellow-orange. Not pinkish. That screamed Alder (one of the two types of Traill's) in the back of my head.
We took a ton of photos from every possible angle and I sent some off to be double-checked. The reply came back: Probable Alder. Definitely not Acadian. Alder it stall be.
Had a growing count for the day but that missed Chickadee still bugged me hours later. I ran the net lanes one more time to determine if we should stay open or go home. I figured it was time to go. On the way back I was told there was a bird waiting for me to take a picture of.
Ain't he cute? Caught in the same net as the bird I lost earlier. I will pretend it is the exact same one.
We had one more surprise before we left. A pair of Eastern Kingbirds flew into the tree above net 9 right next to the banding table before continuing on their journey.
That's what I call a good day.
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