Sunday Banding Photos

We had a great morning banding at Ritter Farm Park in Lakeville, MN this past Sunday. It was the second of 3 fall sessions we do for the public at the park and we had lots of visitors including a group of kids who all got to help let some of our banded birds go.

Today was a classic fall banding day. Calm winds let us set nets in all the usual places. A cool morning changed into a fairly warm afternoon with temperatures reaching 80 degrees. We ended the session with a good number of birds and typical fall diversity. Totals can be seen at the North Central Bird Observatory website.


This Chestnut-sided Warbler, Dendroica pensylvanica, sure has a different look from it's spring plumage. I'm always taken by the vibrant color on their backs.


Many of the birds we caught today were young of the year like this not so Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus. This youngster should show up next spring with a nice bright red eye.


Another young bird caught was one we don't see very often much less catch in out nets. It was this young Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius. Though a youngster, it knew how to defend itself as it tried to dril a couple of holes in our hands as we took photos of it.


We also caught this little fellow but couldn't band it because our permit excludes hummingbirds. This Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, found our net but was on his way without any new "jewelry".

Movement of birds has really picked up lately and the prediction is for a cold front to move through our area by the end of this week. 25 of the possible 26 species of warbler that can be regularly seen in Minnesota were reported on Park Point in Duluth yesterday. Shorebirds continue to move south but sparrows will not peak in their movement for 2-4 weeks yet.

Keep checking back for migration updates.