Chilly with some Chipping Sparrows

With a week off for exams, our class set out for another day of bird banding on Wednesday October 21. The hats and gloves were on for this cool, 37 degree morning. We got up to the Ridges around 7:20 and began setting up nets. Forgetting the stakes, it was a bit of a slower to start to get the nets up and sturdy.  Net 6 was done by around 7:35 in its original forest slope location right off the open patch by the picnic table. Nets 7-9 were set up along the powerline by around 8:00 a.m. During Net 6 set up we heard a White Throated Sparrow. Being a migrant species, I had not heard that in our time out in the field yet and it sounded a lot like the MockingJay from the Hunger Games. There was a lot of communication and singing from the CAWR, especially along the power lines today. When we got back, e did a point count along the brick trail. Hearing and seeing NOCA, CACH, DOWO, CEDW, AMRO, TUTI, CHSP, RBWO. There were a lot of Carolina Chickadees flying and singing about within this area. Farther off in the tops of trees there was a lot of Cedar Waxwing activity. As 8:30 net check came and we approached the nets strung together all along the path (net 5), we were welcomed with plenty of birds waiting to be taken out. Among the 5b/c  and some from the power line nets, we caught 2 TUTI recaptures, 3 CACH recapture, and banded 9 CHSP, 2 TUTI, a RBWO, and a SOSP. During all the banding, Kelly pulled me and John away to go do a net check. There were two song sparrows caught in net 8. John was able to do his second extraction for the day and I was able to watch :) Kelly was going to have me do one of the SOSP but it ended up being much more tangled than expected so I was able to see the different methods, especially when very tangled. It was a very interactive day and very cool to be able to see the bird extractions more closely, practice wing chord measurements and fat readings. Today we had Michelle, Alayna, and John banding also which was pretty awesome to start seeing more of the interactive and learning processes of the banding. Many TUVU's and CAGO were seen flying through the sky, TUVU, CHSP, CACH, DOWO were active and also EABB were seen flying around. At the 10:00 net check, 2 more Carolina Chickadees were caught and banded. We ended the day and closed up the nets by 11:00 a.m. with a total of 22 birds caught making it for a busy, interactive and interesting day of bird banding!

Lake Hope

On October 7, 2015 we continued our birding lab trips by setting out for Lake Hope. Starting at 7:45 a.m.,  it was partly cloudy and cool as we stopped roadside along a lake and open mowed field to observe. We were hearing many songs such as the AMCR, CAWR, BLJA. Two BEKI were heard and seen flying along the pond, WODU ,and GBHE were also seen flying among the lake habitat and a flock of TUVU above. We also were hearing and seeing EABB, CHSP, CAGE, and EAPH flying and bobbing its tail among the trees. As we drove into marshy habitat we saw a large amount of WODU flocking and leaving the lake, a female BEKI on a dead snag and making its call, PIWO, and heard a juvenile SOSP who seemed to be learning its song. It was about 8:20 a.m. when we started along a trail hearing PIWO, SOSP and AMGO chip notes, EATO, EAPH, YBCU, TUTI and a Northern Flicker which was a newer one to see. Golden Kinglets were identified and we were able to go between the Ruby or Golden crowned based on eye line or eye ring. We were hearing WBNU, DOWO on a snag and a Herried Woodpecker. We stopped shortly roadside at 9:10 at a large pond seeing WODU, BEKI, and a hawk very far away seen by its silhouette on a snag. At 9:30 a.m. we arrived to the Lake Hope Nature Center is a forested, wood habitat where we saw a lot of birds. The Eastern Bluebirds were very active and abundant unlike previous weeks it seems. We also saw the slate colored of the Junco, DOWO and identified a few birds in a tree as flycatchers, and by its yellow belly and dark head, identified more closely as the EAPH. As we started down the roads more we were hearing RBWO, WBNU and searching for the Red headed woodpecker and the Red bellied Woodpecker that Alayna identified and were flying within the trees. Among a campsite along the ground we saw active EABB and PIWA (possibly a HOWA?) and an adorable black labrador:) Making our way back to the vans, we identified the Northern Flicker call which was a newer sound, but was hard to get our sight on it. We finished our day around 10:30/10:45, rather quiet and headed back to Ohio Unvieristy.