Monday, November 26, 2007

Winter is upon us

It has been a while since I've added anything to my blog and it's not that things have been dull, in fact it's just the opposite. I've been quite busy with school starting and all. I do want to jot down a few items before I forget them.

The fall birding season was strange in a few ways. We had some unusually early migrants show up on Labor Day weekend including a couple of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis). I also caught and banded my first ever Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) the same weekend. Then as the fall season went on, it got ever more interesting. A Green-breasted Mango shows up in Wisconsin, an Inca Dove shows up on Minnesota's North Shore and now, in November, Iowa is hosting a Forktailed Flycatcher. Is it strange or what?

Now things are starting to calm down around my area and the best birds around are a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) hanging around my feeders. I'll be putting away the banding equipment for the winter here in a few days and then totaling up my seasons records. I'll try to remember to post those when I have them done.

Enjoy the coming cool down and get ready for the holidays!

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