Tuesday April 29, 2014. 9 new bands of 6 species; 2 retraps. New species Purple Finch. Birds of the day were Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and White-throated Sparrow, with 2 banded of each. We operated for 3 hours before the winds became too strong and the radar showed approaching rain. David Bonter reported that he had banded more birds in 1 hour yesterday with just two nets in Ithaca than we banded in 8 hours with 32 nets here in the icebox on the lakeshore! Things did not improve today, although the Purple Finch was a treat.
SY Purple Finch Photo by Ryan Kayhart
Pat inventoried the hats and t-shirts for sale at the station; Allen spread more woodchips in some of the worst puddles; bander ‘conferences’ took place to discuss ways to improve our skills; we feasted on goodies brought in by Gary and Ruth; Betsy watched radar.
Ryan Kayhart and Betsy Brooks