Monday 27 April 2015

Bird banding!

It's almost May and the banding season is well underway! Yesterday was my fourth time banding at a bird research station on Lake Ontario. I have already banded many species from birds as small as the Brown Creeper to as big as the Ring-billed Gull. It is a fantastic feeling to get so intimately close to the birds and realize how light they really are.

Some highlights for April were banding a Cooper's Hawk along with some of the first neotropical migrants to return, including the three male Myrtle's Warblers pictured below.

Three beautiful male Myrtle's Warblers. (Photo taken by Charlotte.)
So far, my banding training has been exciting, but spring migration is still relatively slow. Hopefully things will speed up as the seasons races into May! I especially can't wait for more warblers to come back!