Poor weather brings slow days

I haven't had too much to write about in the last few days because our birds have been few and far between. Over the weekend we had some scattered thunderstorms which have hit our site multiple times. At least there haven't been bad tropical storms though- Ivan hit this area directly back in '04.

Our scanty count thus far:
9/6: 16 individuals, 6 spp (including another whip-poor-will!)
9/7: 6 individuals, 6 spp
9/8: 5 individuals, 5 spp (our first Cardinal, my favorite to extract)
9/9: 12 individuals, 8 spp

Numbers aside, we have had our highlights. I saw my first Red-headed Woodpecker and am starting to contemplate making a life list, where I keep track of first sightings of every species I've seen. We also had our first black and white warbler, my favorite (male) warbler. This one is a hatch-year female (note the lack of black under the eye in favor of a buffy color).



We also had our first Canada warbler, a favorite of fellow BSBO groupie, Phil. This is also a hatch-year female; in adult males the "necklace" is black. The white eyering is always striking in this species.




Today we caught a hatch-year male Orchard Oriole, a species that was not caught at this site last year (so exciting!). Hatch year males look completely different in plumage from adult male Orchard Orioles, so it is easy to age these guys. The characteristic black throat pattern is only represented by a few feathers right now, but after one molt the entire throat will be black.

The first week in review

Checking out the blogs from other observatories, I thought I'd do an overview of our weekly totals (Aug 31- Sept 5) for anyone who is looking for fall migratory information at Fort Morgan . . . instead of just my ramblings about life in the field!

Species captured and numbers:
American Redstart- 1
Black and White Warbler- 1
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher- 6
Carolina Chickadee- 3
Carolina Wren- 1
Downy Woodpecker- 1
Great Crested Flycatcher- 1
Hooded Warbler- 1
Kentucky Warbler- 1
Northern Mockingbird- 2
Northern Waterthrush- 10
Ovenbird- 5
Prarie Warbler- 3
Prothonotary Warbler- 7
Red Bellied Woodpecker- 1
Red-eyed Vireo- 19
Trails Flycatcher- 2
Veery- 1
Warbling Vireo- 1
Yellow Breasted Chat- 6
Yellow Bellied Flycatcher- 2
Yellow Warbler- 5

Species Banded- 23
Total Birds Banded- 83
Net Hours- 848

In general, what we lack in abundance we make up for in diversity!

The beginning of the season

Yesterday we topped out at 31 new birds- 29 captures in the AM prompted us to go out again in the afternoon for a few hours in the hopes of catching some more. We were a little disappointed with only 2 new captures in 2.5 hours in the PM, but it was good practice opening and closing our nets.

Today was much slower (7 new birds banded) but I had a fabulous first round: a whip-poor-will, a ruby throated humning bird, a northern mockingbird and a Kentucky warbler. See pictures of the whip-poor-will and Kentucky above. It's always nice to have some crazy birds in the nets- whip-poor-wills are part of a group called "nightjars" and are nocturnal so you are only likely to catch them during the first round.

Otherwise, this morning's highlights included . . . net repair! Seeing as a pelican could have flown through one of our nets, it was time for replacement and repair. It can be really tedious work but ultimately rewarding if we catch more birds as a result.

My new neighborhood

It's really not a bad place to live. There aren't many neighbors and all of the houses are on stilts . . . Pray for a hurricane-free fall for the Gulf . . . We live in the light yellow house next to the turquoise one.

And . . . I'm back!

Into the field that is! The past six months have been a roller coaster: I came home from Thailand, spent lots of time with the Mom unit after she broke her leg and tore her ACL skiing, visited Colby friends on the East Coast, went to OK briefly (insert shoutout to "Colby West" here), and then volunteered at a sweet place called Black Swamp Bird Observatory (check out bsbo.org). My five weeks there mistnetting and banding were a blast and I find myself inexplicably happy when handling birds (especially pulling them out of nets). To read more about bird banding at BSBO, check out Julie's blog at http://bsbobirdbander.blogspot.com/. Basically, a great group of people and TONS (over 10,000) birds was the perfect combination for me this spring. Then came summer- time at Falcon Camp running Woodslore and weekend activities, finding a field job for the fall, getting engaged . . . it's been busy!

So that puts me here, in Gulf Shores, AL with a Master's student from the University of Southern Mississippi who is running a banding station near Fort Morgan. Someone from USM has been banding at this site for many years now, and this year is Jaci's turn. She's also doing some radio telemetry with Swainson's Thrushes.

I'm living in an awesome beach house on the Coast with Jaci, Mason, Joanna and Nakita, a visiting researcher from Russia who has great stories. Jaci also has a sweet mutt named Cooper who is living with us for the time being. Today after work I swam in the ocean for the first time since Thailand and saw some rays and dolphins.

This banding station runs around 30 nets from before sunrise until the temperature in the sun is 90F- after that it is too hot for the birds- seven days a week. We finished setting up yesterday so today was our first bird-catching day. While our abundance was low (13 new captures), the diversity was great: yellow breasted chat, yellow bellied flycatcher, downy woodpecker, northern mockingbird, yellow warblers, red eyed vireo, carolina chickadee and a young male prothonotary . . . so it was a good day. I also saw a bobcat in the field, too, which is likely the craziest "cat" sightings I've had considering it was within 10 feet!

Bangkok and Khao Yai

Following Chiang Mai, I headed back down to BKK . . . by train! Which adds another form of transportation to my ever-growing list : ) It was definitely the right decision; even though it took longer than a night bus it was more enjoyable and relaxing, in addition to being a great way to see the countryside.
I had a little bit of time in Bangkok as a backpacker bum so I headed back to Khao San Road to people watch, catch up on movies, and meet other travelers. Last Sunday I went to a little, unmotorized island called Ko Kret, a 90 minute boat ride north of the city on the Chao Phraya river. My new Thai friend, Vee, (who was also our family's tour guide when we were in BKK in December ) came with me and we had a good time taking a break from the city, watching sweets being made, and checking out some traditional pottery.
Monday I was due to head up to Khao Yai National Park, but first I took myself to may kaidee's vegetarian/vegan cooking school. I had decided it would be a birthday present to myself and planned to go in March, but even with leaving sooner I still wanted to learn! I now know how to make more than 10 Thai dishes and multiple curry pastes. Once I get home it will just be a matter of getting the right ingredients, but may told us of some other substitutes we can use if we can't find the necessary Thai foods.
Monday afternoon was quite the trip getting up to Khao Yai. I took a bus from Mor Chit in Bangkok to a little town called Pak Chong. Then it was songthaew to the gate. . . except the last songthaew of the day is full of school kids and I was literally being held in the back of this truck by numerous small bodies! (and realized if I were to lose my balance I would not only make these kids fall off the back of the truck but also crush them against the pavement.) From the gate we hitchiked (another new form of transport!) to the headquarters, and again to the research house. I went along with Andy, a British professor who is doing research in the park and managing some PhDs who work there. I spent the next few days in the forest helping a really awesome Thai PhD Phet do some arthropod sampling, learning more about birds of Thailand, and entertaining the resident wreathed hornbill, Gookee. I promise to post photos of him- he is really a character! He was confiscated from a poacher and had an injured wing so he was handraised by some hornbill researchers and Andy's crew as well. Like many hand-raised animals, he doesn't know how to behave like his own species does (he spits out figs), but I think he is a great companion for the researchers. I also met a guy named Chris who is trying to see all 32 species of pittas in the next 12 months- check out his website at pittasworld.com.
From Khao Yai there was more solo hitching out to the main road . . . I got picked up by the fuzz! Ha ha ha. No, really, a policeman who was on his way out of the park gave me a ride. I took a minibus (more new transport) down to Bangkok with a whole bunch of Thais getting on and off along the way.

Then the next morning it was off to Cambodia (where I am now) but that story will have to wait until the next post . . .

Happy Valentine's Day, all- I'm off for some French food and a local concert.

The adventure continues

And I was off! As of February 2 I've been taking in the sights and sounds of Thailand on my latest solo adventure. The first stop was Chiang Mai, the biggest city in the North(west), for some boring stuff (Immigration; which is less accessible by pedal bike than the maps lead you to believe) to really fun stuff, like the Hill Tribe Museum, Wat Phra Doi Suthep (it's on a mountain and I hiked there!), and . . . the ZOO!!!

Chiang Mai Zoo was definitely a highlight- I saw my first Giant Pandas!!! And I greatly enjoyed their climate-controlled enclosure, complete with cool mist, after a lot of walking in the rest of the park. Note to self: next time take the tram- it's worth it for the heat and hills. The animal show was hilarious- I was sitting in a sea of Thai schoolchildren who found me almost as interesting as what was going on on the stage : )
The highlight of the show was your favorite Asian animal and mine: the binturong! Never heard of it? CVA has and there's a picture earlier on my blog under "Who am I?" CVA won the contest and a fabulous Phu Khieo Wildlife pin (which I'll send when I'm back in the US).

I'm in BKK now and at an internet cafe- more news in a few days!