Thursday 26 May 2011

The last 3 weeks...

2 sessions on the Teifi were fairly quiet with around 70 birds each. The big passage of Sedge warblers didn't happen compared to the same dates last year.
Meanwhile, those of us on the TRG trip to Canada were having an exciting time.
The Banding Lab at Long Point Bird Observatory-
Chiffchaffs can't be compared with these colourful Yellow Warblers and stunning Chestnut-sided Warblers. We were spoilt by nets full of brightly coloured birds. On some good days we caught over 400 birds of 50+ species.

We thought these Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were wonderful at first but after catching 96 one day we changed our opinion - that beak can cause a lot of damage!
A big difference in North American banding that we encountered is that rings are closed so have to be opened before putting in the pliers. They also have to be threaded onto wires. It makes the BTO rings seem easy.
And to finish, one more bird that got the pulses racing - an Eastern Bluebird, a species not often caught.We were all made very welcome at Long Point and it is hoped that other members of the group will be able to visit in the future.

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