Closed up the MAPS season for good today at Laughlin Bottoms, where we caught only 5 birds- 2 Ovenbirds, 1 Northern Cardinal, 1 White-eyed Vireo, and 1 Common Yellowthroat. Getting everything packed this afternoon and ready for an extra early start tomorrow morning for Colorado!

August 3, 2010 Proffitts Prairie
Exceedingly hot today, the temperature reached 93 degrees by 0845 so we only banded for a little over 3 hours. Also swarms of horseflys this morning, one net had about 20 entangled at one point

Bunting, Indigo 5
Flycatcher, Great Crested 1 (first one of the season we have captured)
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Ovenbird 1
Redstart, American 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 2
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Wren, Carolina 1

August 2, 2010 Big Piney

Cool to start off the morning, but becoming quite toasty by closing time
Bunting, Indigo 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Thrush, Wood 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Kentucky 2
Warbler, Worm-eating 2
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1
Woodpecker, Downy 1
Wren, Carolina 2

August 1, 2010 Miller Pond

Bunting, Indigo 2
Cardinal, Northern 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 3
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 2
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Phoebe, Eastern 2
Sparrow, Field 2
Thrasher, Brown 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 4
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Prairie 4
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1
Wren, Carolina 2
Yellowthroat, Common 4

July 31, 2010

We closed up shop for the season this morning at Macedonia. Today's captures consisted of 3 birds- a Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, and Eastern Wood-Pewee. However, while setting up nets at 0550, I did hear two species of owls- Eastern Screech-Owl and Barred Owl.

July 30, 2010

This morning we made our last visit to Tilley Bottoms, removing all of our equipment (net poles, rebar, and ropes) from the site after we finished banding (despite a brief downpour). It was pretty quiet bird wise, we only ended up with 15 birds. Of interest was an early migrant ALDER FLYCATCHER. This species is painstakingly difficult to differentiate from the very similar Willow Flycatcher, even in hand. There is a broad range of overlap in almost all measurements, and many individuals cannot be identified past "Triall's" Flycatcher. However, after taking enough measurements to satisty even the most anal of scientists, I was able to confidently identify the bird as an Alder Flycatcher, a species that has just begun the annual southward migration from its canadian breeding grounds in the past week. I also got a new Missouri state bird today- a flyover Cooper's Hawk that I caught out of the corner of my eye while extracting the Yellow-breasted Chat.

Bunting, Indigo 4
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Flycatcher, Alder 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Vireo, White-eyed 5
Warbler, Blue-winged 1

July 28, 2010

Shorebird migration seems to now be in full swing here in Missouri. Karen and I visited two locations in the western part of the state today; Four Rivers Conservation Area and Schell-Osage Conservation Area. We found several nice-sized flocks of shorebids, containing 24+ Stilt Sandpipers, several Least Sandpipers, good numbers of both yellowlegs species, a couple of Semipalmated Plovers and Long-billed Dowitchers, and a couple possible Pectoral Sandpipers. There were also lots of Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers around, as well as the ever-present Killdeer. At Four Rivers Conservation Area, we were treated to distant looks at a flock of 200+ American White Pelicans on an impoundment. We also had a Northern Harrier, Bell's Vireo, and several Scissor-tailed Flycatchers here. At Schell-Osage, while driving along one of the gravel roads, we stumble upon a photogenic Yellow-crowned Night-Heron feeding in short marsh grass just off the road shoulder. It was good to see today that fall migration is going strong, look forward to more birding soon!

This morning (July 25) at Miller Pond was our busiest morning of the summe thus far. The first net run alone produced over 20 birds, and our day's total ended up at 47 birds of 18 different species. Some highlights were 3 different LEAST FLYCATCHERS (a MO Species of Conservation Concern), 2 BLUE GROSBEAKS, 1 WORM-EATING WARBLER, 1 YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, 1 BEWCIKS WREN (a recapture from several weeks ago), many young PRARIE WARBLERS, and many young BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS. The day's list is below

Bunting, Indigo 8
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Flycatcher, Least 3
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 6
Goldfinch, American 1
Grosbeak, Blue 2
Parula, Northern 2
Sparrow, Field 5
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Vireo, Yellow-throated 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 2
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Warbler, Prairie 8
Warbler, Worm-eating 1
Woodpecker, Downy 2
Wren, Bewick's 1
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

July 24, 2010
Laughlin Bottoms
Very slow today, birds just were not moving about. We ended up catching only 9 birds for the day.

Bunting, Indigo 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 2
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 2

July 23, 2010 Big Piney

19 individuals

Caught another Cerulean Warbler today, a young male. Also had first of the season capture Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Bunting, Indigo 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 4
Ovenbird 3
Redstart, American 3
Warbler, Cerulean 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Woodpecker, Red-bellied 1
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

July 22, 2010
Proffitt's Prairie: 17 Indiv., 11 species

Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Goldfinch, American 1
Humingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Vireo, Red-eyed 2
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Black-and-white 1
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 3
Woodpecker, Downy 1
Wren, Carolina 2
Yellowthroat, Common 1

July 21, 2010 Macedonia Cemetary
4 Indiv., 3 species

Vireo, Red-eyed 2
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Kentucky 1

July 20, 2010 Tilley Bottoms
23 Indiv., 12 species

Bunting, Indigo 3
Cardinal, Northern 1
Catbird, Gray 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 2
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Ovenbird 2
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 6
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Wren, Carolina 1

Another hot day today, highs in the mid-90's. This afternoon we stopped by Stone Mill Springs, which is one of the largest natural springs in Missouri, and is just over 1000 feet long. Trout are regularly stocked here, making this the shortest official trout fishery in the state. Keith, a volunteer from Kansas City who will be staying with us for several days and helping us band, arrived a few mintues ago. He ran a MAPS station in the mid-90's, so it will be interesting to hear about his experiences.

Karen's mom and little brother Michael arrived on Saturday afternoon. We showed them around the area, and around Fort Leonard Wood. An interesting observation was a Bobcat crossing Pulaski Avenue at about 6:00 in the evening. He paused for a couple seconds before dissapearing into the woods, giving us fantastic looks of a rarely seen creature. Yesterday, on Karen's birthday, we all went to the Saint Louis Zoo. Admission here is free; the zoo is supported almost entirely by private donations, many of which are from large companies such as Anheuseur Busch and Apple. It is a very nice zoo, with a large variety of animals from all over the world, and a very large herpetarium. I found a Black-crowned Night-Heron along the shore of the pond which hosted captive flamingos. Despite the rainy weather, it was a good time.

Karen and I arose early yesterday and headed to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area near Columbia, MO. We had a good morning, finding her several life birds and 67 species total for the day. Highlight were Rose-beasted Grosbeak, Bell's Vireo, several Warbling Vireos, a Double-crested Cormorant, several Solitary Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs, five swallow species (Barn, NRW, Bank, Cliff, and Purple Martin), many Dickcissels, a Bald Eagle adult, 8 Green Herons, and numerous Great Egrets (91) and Great Blue Herons (153). Also picked up several Black-capped Chickadees which was a MO state bird for me (however they are common in the central/northern part of the state, carolinas occur around my location in Pulaski/Phelps Counties and southward). We also saw an adult raccoon with four young cross the gravel road in front of us at Eagle Bluffs, and a Striped Skunk abmling along the grassy road shoulder (several photos taken). Leopard Frogs were everywhere, and we saw several turtle species, including a Map Turtle I photographed (probably a Mississippi Map Turtle after reviewing Peterson's Reptile and Amphibian guide).

Yesterday evening we went dip netting for amphibians, catching 5 different tadpole species, several frogs, and several "Central" Newts. A storm blew in about 2030, preventing us from looking for snakes during the night.

Today at Laughlin Bottoms was again very hot and humid, and the bird activity seemed sparse, like yesterday at Proffitt's Prairie. We captured a low total of only 9 birds this morning. Completely unexpected, however, was a Least Flycatcher that flew into net 5 at 0700. Apparently, they are quite uncommon in the area at this time of year...I believe they breed in very small numbers in the area, but I plan on getting more info soon.

Cardinal, Northern 2
Flycatcher, Least 1
Parula, Northern 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 3
Warbler, Kentucky 1

This morning at Proffitt's Prairie was extremely hot and humid... I didn't know that I was even capable of sweating as much as I did this morning. We ended up closing up at 1020 with only 20 birds (a season low for the site), the birds today seemed to be like us- not wanting to move around a whole lot in the heat.

Unfortunately, once again we were not able to meet up with the Hellbender research team this afternoon. We will have one more shot to go out with them, or else we may end up going out to try and find some ourselves within the next week or so.

20 individuals, 13 species
Bunting, Indigo 2
Cardinal, Northern 3
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Ovenbird 1
Parula, Northern 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 2
Wooodpecker, Downy 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

We banded at Big Piney this morning, where it was exceptionally slow until 1050 this morning...we caught 7 birds on each of the last 2 net runs to end up with a total of 24 for the day, including an adult male Cerulean Warbler! There are several breeding populations on the base, mainly along the Big Piney River and a few along Roubidoux Creek. The cerulean's habitat selection is drastically different here, where they are only found along rivers or large waterways with mature bottomland deciduous forest, than in the Appalachian Mountains, where they are found on drier, mid-elevation, steep, deciduous slopes. I also flushed an American Woodcock from near one of the nets this morning...a state bird for me. Also of interest was a young groundhog that we observed climbing a small PawPaw tree by the banding station!

Karen and I are banding at Proffitt's Prairie tomorrow, afterwards we're planning on meeting up with the Hellbender research team again for another chance at seeing and photographing this amazing salamander.

24 individuals, 13 species

Cardinal, Northern 3
Ovenbird 2
Parula, Northern 1
Redstart, American 3
Thrush, Wood 2
Vireo, Red-eyed 2
Warbler, Black-and-white 1
Warbler, Cerulean 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Warbler, Worm-eating 1
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Wren, Carolina 2
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Cerulean photos are now up on my photo page

Just got back from banding at Macedonia Cemetary. Once again, we ended up with 5 birds for the whole morning. However, a female PILEATED WOODPECKER we caught made up for the boredom. Some photos will be up on my photo page shortly.

Bunting, Indigo 3
Goldfinch, American 1
Woodpecker, Pileated 1

Due to access restrictions to the site, we ended up having to band again today at Miller Pond (only 6 days after we banded there on July 5; we're supposed to have at least a 7 days in between banding at the same place). Birds were very active early in the morning during 66 degree temperatures, but slowed down quick as it became quite hot. Another Bewick's Wren (the 3rd we've caught here) was this morning's highlight, in my opinion. Total of 29 birds of 11 species

Bunting, Indigo 5
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 7
Hummingbrd, Ruby-throated 1
Parula, Northern 1
Phoebe, Eastern 2
Sparrow, Field 4
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 2
Woodpecker, Downy 2
Wren, Bewick's 1

A very nasty storm is passing us over right now, with winds of up to 70 mph. A tornado from it was spotted in St. Robert, a little town about 4 miles away, a few minute ago. According to the weather channel, this storm can produce golf ball sized hail (although I haven't seen hail of any size so far). It looks as if it will blow over quick though.

July 10, 2010

We banded this morning at Tilley Bottoms, where we ended up with 32 birds of 13 species. Highlights were two molting Second Year American Redstarts, whose body plumage was mottled olive and black, and wings contained two generations of orange and yellow feathers. When closing, we captured another Yellow-billed Cuckoo, who looked ready to pass an egg. Also, around mid-morning, net 8 housed a family of 4 Downy Woodpeckers (3 young and 1 adult). We also captured one more towards the end of the day.

Bunting, Indigo 2
Cardinal, Northern 3
Chat, Yellow-breasted 5
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Ovenbird 1
Phoebe, Eastern 1
Redstart, American 2
Vireo, White-eyed 4
Warbler, Black-and-white 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Woodpecker, Downy 5
Wren, Carolina 1


July 9, 2010

Karen and I went out this morning to tag along with a team of herpetologists performing Hellbender surveys along the Big Piney River in Fort Leonard Wood. These humongous salamanders are found in several locations in the area and we are really hoping to see and photograph some before the summer is over. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the site this morning, the water visibility did not measure up to the researcher's minimum protocol requirements. Hopefully we will be able to go out with them again in the next week or two when conditions are better and find some Hellbenders!

The Blackberries are now at their peak around here, we collected a whole tub full of the scrumptious, dark fruit this afternoon!

Had a really filling dinner at Waffle House this evening, in addition to the food we ordered, the waitress brought us a free (and very large) Sausage, Egg and Cheese Sandwich (apparently they screwed up somebody else's order and has this to show for it).

More photos now up on flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccloym/

Have some new banding photos up on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccloym/

Had another very busy morning on July 5. We wrapped up banding for period 7 at Miller Pond, despite intense heat and pretty high winds. The first net run of the morning, at 0620, I brought back 15 birds- 10 were in one net! 3 Carolina Chickadees, 3 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Downy Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, and another BEWICK'S WREN, many of which were young birds, were all in net 5. Overall we ended up with 36 birds, including another Yellow-billed Cuckoo. There was also an adult male Orchard Oriole that was dangerously close to one of our nets, but he evaded capture. Also of interest was a Worm-eating Warbler that we banded; we've caught a handful at other sites so far this summer, but this is the first for Miller Pond. We haven't even detected them here thus far; the habitat does not seem particularly appealing for them. It must have been a wandering, post-breeding bird (it was an adult).

36 Individuals, 17 Species
Bunting, Indigo 5
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 4
Chickadee, Carolina 3
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed 1
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 3
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Parula, Northern 1
Phoebe, Eastern 2
Sparrow, Field 3
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Worm-eating 1
Woodpecker, Downy 1
Wren, Bewick's 1
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 4

After banding we went tubing on the Big Piney River again, picking a section of river which we anticipated would be a 3 to 4 hour float. Instead, it took us a good six hours to get through, and we pulled out just as darkness was falling. Saw some good birds along the river though- 3 Great Blue Herons, 2 Belted Kingfishers, many American Redstarts, several Louisiana Waterthrushes, Prothonotary Warblers, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a couple Yellow-throated Warblers, and a flock of Northern Rough-winged Swallows that were feeding within ten feet of us.

Today is our second of four days off before we begin period 8. Unfortunately, the weather has been pretty dreary here these past two days, not reallly allowing for too much outdoor activity. We've been keeping ourselves occupied mainly by sitting on the back porch and observing the resident Five-lined Skink, which Karen dubbed "Professor Chaos". I'm hoping to get out birding either at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area or White River Trace Conservation Area in the next two days.

Today Karen and I ended up getting rained out halfway through the morning at Laughlin Bottoms, but luckily we were just able to get in the minimum daily time requirement. We did catch 14 birds however:

Bunting, Indigo 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 3
Ovenbird 1
Parula, Northern 1
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Kentucky 5
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Karen's dad and brother visited all afternoon, and her dad took us all out to a very good afternoon dinner about 1420 at a restaraunt called the Sirloin Stockade, which is a reasonably priced steak buffet. It was absolutely declicous, they had steak, ribs, fried chicken, pizza, salads, fruit, etc. all for 10 bucks a person. I am still full now 5 hours later!

July 3, 2010

Today was exceptionally busy at Proffitt's Prairie, the busiest day of the entire summer for us thus far actually. We ended the morning with 40 birds of 14 species! During the first net run of the morning, there were eight birds in one net, and all very "unpleasant"- 4 White-eyed Vireos, which scream and kick and try to bite, 2 Carolina Wrens, which are extremely squirmy and have a tendency to get extremely tangled in the net, and 2 Northern Cardinals, which scream and bite (hard!)

Bunting, Indigo 7
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 7
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Ovenbird 1
Phoebe, Eastern 1
Tanager, Summer 3
Vireo, White-eyed 5
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1
Woodpecker, Downy 1
Wren, Carolina 4
Yellowthroat, Common 2

July 2, 2010

This was another exceedingly slow morning banding at Macedonia Cemetary; we once again ended the day with a grand total of 5 birds captured. However, while closing down the nets at 1130, I heard Karen yelling for me from the next net over. I ran to net 6 as fast as I could, to find an immature RED-SHOULDERED HAWK laying in the bottom tier. It was surprisingly docile in the net, and very easy to extract. Since raptors have such sharp talons, there is a specilized grip that is required to handle these birds. While carrying the bird back to the banding station to take photographs, I was unfortunate enough to feel the full wrath of this buteos talons upon my bare hands when I was adjusting my grip on the bird's legs. I was able to get some nice in hand photos though, which made it all worthwhile. This was both Karen and my favorite bird caught so far this summer.

Bunting, Indigo 2
Hawk, Red-shouldered 1
Ovenbird 1
Warbler, Black-and-white 1

Thursday, July 1, 2010

This morning began rather chilly, with an air temperature of 58 degrees. We were setting up nets in fairly dense fog early this morning at Big Piney. Surprisingly, by midmorning we had only caught TWO birds (this is usually one of our busiest sites!). Fortunately, things picked up quickly about 0910 when the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds, allowing us to end the morning with 18 bids captured of 10 species. At 0830, Karen and I were startled by a group of 20-or 30 fully geared and armed soldiers performing some sort of training maneuver. They passed by us at the banding station (my truck at this site) without saying a word, and proceeded to lay down in an outward facing circle, the closest soldier within spitting distance, with rifles generally aimed along their line of sight. Two men, apparently in charge, were taking notes and measurements of the river while all this was happening. Less than an hour later, all suddenly got up and left without saying a word.

We were also visited by Joe Proffitt and Kenton this morning (both from the Ft. LW Natural Resources Department), along with two biologists from the Smithsonian Institute that are collecting blood samples from After Second Year American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, Northern Parulas, Black-and-white Warblers, and Prairie Warblers. They may join us on Saturday for the morning at Proffitt's Prairie, where we have been catching good numbers of Prairie Warblers. Here is today's list:

Bunting, Indigo 2
Cardinal, Northern 1
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed 1
Ovenbird 2
Redstart, American 2
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Warbler, Worm-eating 3


Wednesday, July 30, 2010

After a relaxing and uneventful four days off, Karen and I started off period 7 banding at Tilley Bottoms. It was a relatively cool morning, not getting above 80 degrees. It was also a slow morning, we ended up capturing only 16 birds of 10 species (compared to the 34 individuals we caught here during period 6, approx. 10 days ago).

Bunting, Indigo 1
Cardinal, Northern 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 5
Ovenbird 1
Towhee, Eastern 1
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Black-and-white 1
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

June 25, 2010
We banded at Laughlin Bottoms during another hot morning today. After about 0830, bird activity really dropped off, even more than usual. As a result, we only ended up with 18 for the morning; not a bad total but still slightly less than what we usually catch at this site.

18 indiv., 8 species
Bunting, Indigo 4
Cardinal, Northern 2
Ovenbird 1
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 4
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Wren, Carolina 1

June 24, 2010
Karen and I banded at Proffitt's Prairie this morning; it was very hot and steamy but there were still plenty of birds around. I also got a lifer this morning- not a bird, reptile, amphibian, mammal, or butterfly, but a spider. We found a real live tarantula today along one of our banding trails! Such a neat creature, it would rear up and try to strike at the toe of my boot at times. It was quite camera shy though, preventing me from getting any usable shots. It would continuously dart around on the gravel and grass and wouldn't stay still for more than a second or two at a time.

32 Indiv., 11 species
Bunting, Indigo 4
Chat, Yellow-breasted 9
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Ovenbird 2
Sparrow, Field 2
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Warbler, Prairie 4
Wood-Pewee 2
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Karren and I banded this morning at Macedonia Cemetary, and caught a total of twelve birds, making for a relatively good morning. This may not seem like a lot, but compared to our past totals of 8, 5, and 5 birds here, today was pretty busy. Of interest this morning was a recently fed Black Rat Snake laying on a rock beside one of our trails.

Bunting, Indigo 6
Ovenbird 3
Sparrow, Chipping 1
Thrush, Wood 1
Warbler, Black-and-white 1

I have gotten behind on posting these last few days; below are recent banding totals

June, 22, 2010 Big Piney 25 indiv., 13 species
Bunting, Indigo 2
Chickadee, Carolina 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Nuthatch, White-breasted 1
Ovenbird 2
Redstart, American 2
Titmouse, Tufted 2
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Kentucky 5
Warbler, Worm-eating 1
Waterthrush, Louisiana 2
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1
Wren, Carolina 3

June 21, 2010 Tilley Bottoms- 34 indiv., 13 species
Cardinal, Northern 4
Chat, Yellow-breasted 4
Chickadee,Carolina 2
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 2
Parula, Northern 1
Thrush, Wood 2
Towhee, Eastern 1
Warbler, Black-and-white 2
Warbler, Blue-winged 8
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Warbler, Worm-eating 3
Wren, Carolina 3

June 20, 2010 Miller Pond- 29 indiv., 17 species
Bunting, Indigo 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 4
Chickadee, Carolina 1
Cowbird, Brown-headed 1
Goldfinch, American 4
Grosbeak, Blue 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Phoebe, Eastern 3
Sparrow, Field 4
Tanager, Summer 1
Titmouse, Tufted 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Warbler, Prairie 1
WREN, BEWICK'S 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

June 16, 2010 Laughlin Bottoms 19 indiv., 11 species
Bunting, Indigo 3
Chat, Yellow-breasted 3
Ovenbird 2
Redstart, American 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Warbler, Prairie 1
Warbler, Worm-eating 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Banding at Macedonia Cemetary this morning reminded me of banding at Fort Bragg, NC during early August, not in terms of weather or insects, but in number of birds caught. For the second time in a row, we only caught 5 birds at MACE. Today, thses consisted of 2 Indigo Buntings, 2 Northern Cardinals, and a Blue Jay.

Just posted some more in-hand bird photos from the MAPS training session on my photo page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccloym/

Banded with Harley at Miller Pond during a very hot morning today. We caught 18 birds, which are
below

Bunting, Indigo 5
Chat, Yellow-breasted 4
Goldfinch, American 4
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Sparrow, Field 2
Yellowthroat, Common 1

I am gradually posting photos on my flickr page, found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccloym/

I will soon be up to date and have recent photos posted.

This morning was fairly exhausting; the nets at "Proffitt's Prairie" are spaced out a good deal farther than the rest of the sites. The entire loop is close to a 1.5 mile cross country hike, taking nearly 40 minutes to make a single round, whereas the other sites take only 15-20. I estimate that I hiked between 7 and 8 miles this morning. I unknowingly found a small coloy of seed ticks three different times, and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if I hit triple digits in today's tick tally. Birdwise, it was fairly active this morning, we ended up with a total of 24 captures.

Bunting, Indigo 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 3
Goldfinch, American 2
Sparrow, Field 2
Titmouse, Tufted 3
Towhee, Eastern 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Warbler, Prairie 3
Yellowthroat, Common 4

Also of note were two singing Scarlet Tanagers at the banding station this morning, we had one here on June 9 as well. This is the only banding site where we have detected them so far.

Harley and I banded this morning at Big Piney, along the river. It was a short morning, we ended up getting rained out at 0930 after just four hours, but nevertheless we still caught 19 birds, the highlight of which was another Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Bunting, Indigo 2
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 2
Redstart, American 3
Thrush, Wood 2
Towhee, Eastern 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Waterthrush, Louisiana 2

Not much going on here this afternoon, Harley went home for the evening and Karen is still gone, leaving me the apartment to myself. Tommorrow Harley and I will band at "Proffitt's Prairie"; normally this would be the last site in our rotation, but the creek at Laughlin Bottoms will probably be impassable tomorrow because of todays rain, and Miller Pond and Macedonia Cemetary are both closed tomorrow due to range activity.

Harley and I banded today at Tilley Bottoms during a very nice morning, the humidity didn't kick up until lunchtime today. We ended up with 21 birds, right on par with the past two visits to this site, which have yielded 20 and 22 birds. The waterthrush we caught today was apparently a new species for this site (it is not listed on the breeding status list from past years). Saw another Three-toed Box Turtle at the banding site this morning, it seems like they are just everywhere in this part of the state.

Bunting, Indigo 4
Cardinal, Northern 3
Chat, Yellow-breasted 2
Cowbird, Brown-headed 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Redstart, American 1
Thrush, Wood 1
Vireo, White-eyed 3
Warbler, Blue-winged 1
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Late this afternoon during a jog down to the highway and back I flushed a Wild Turkey from the driveway shoulder; as it was flapping into the forest the thundering wingbeats made it seem like the forest was about to collapse as the bird passed. A Scarlet Tanager was singing downslope from the apartments this evening, and two male Purple Martin's flew overhead around 1730.

With Karen gone until Monday life around the apartment is pretty boring, and very quiet...almost too quiet. Harley is staying here and filling in for her until she gets back, but he's not a big talker, and afternoon life here consists of reading and getting on the internet. I have not really felt like traversing the woodlands too much lately during the head and intense humidity of the afternoon, especially since having got up at 0430 almost every morning.

Yesterday evening Harley, Karen, and I began setting up a brand new site, known as "Proffitt's Prairie". The normal 6th site, Bradford Cemetary, is unable to be run any longer because of a nearby artillery range expansion. "Proffitt's Prairie" is comprised mainly of open oak savanna, with some cleared areas consisting of very thick, bordering on unpenetrable, sumac, grapevine, and blackberry, and other similar plants. This area is burned every three years, and it is in great need of it's scheduled 2011 burn. Ticks are everywhere here, in the two hours we were clearing net lanes yesterday, i pulled 48 off me. This morning was not much better in that regard, even with a thick layer of insect repellent i found 50+, mainly seed ticks. However, the birds here seem almost as numerous as the ticks, we caught 20 birds this morning running only 6 nets, just over half the normal effort of 10 nets.

Bunting, Indigo 4 (one had an ingrown eye, very weird, it was little more than a small slit set way back in the socket)
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Sparrow, Field 2
Titmouse, Tufted 3
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Warbler, Prairie 3
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Our apartment's washing machine started flooding this afternoon for a still-to-be-determined reason, soaking the whole laundry room floor and a portion of the hallway carpet. Thankfully, the landlords were on it right away and helped us clean up the mess. Hopefully we won't have to deal with that again any time soon.

Monday, June 7, Karen and I were able to access the banding area at Laughlin Bottoms, despite having to wade through hip-deep water. Reaubidoux Creek was still very high because of the recent heavy rains. Banding-wise, we had a good morning, capturing 23 birds.

Bunting, Indigo 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 7
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Redstart, American 2
Vireo, White-eyed 4
Warbler, Blue-winged 3
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Woodpecker, Downy 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Banded yesterday at Miller Pond during a very humid and windy morning. Ended up with 17 birds, much improved over the lowly 10 we caught here last week.

Bluebird, Eastern 2
Bunting, Indigo 5
Catbird, Gray 1
Goldfinch, American 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Phoebe, Eastern 1
Sparrow, Field 1
Tanager, Summer 3
Warbler, Blue-winged 1

Tomorrow we will try to band at Laughlin Bottoms again; Friday the creek was literally impassable because of the 4-5 inches of rain we got here the other night.

Today, Karen, Harley, and I banded at Big Piney, the site along the Big Piney River. Although it was a bit wet most of the morning, it turned out to be quite a productive day, with 30 birds caught total, the most interesting of which was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, which was really a treat to have in hand.

Bunting, Indigo 2
Cardinal, Northern 3
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 4
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Redstart, American 5
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Warbler, Kentucky 4
Waterthrush, Louisiana 5
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1
Wren, Carolina 2

Yesterday was exceedingly slow. Karen and I caught a grand total of 5 birds to show for a whole morning's worth of banding- 3 male Indigo Buntings, a Chipping Sparrow, and a Carolina Chickadee. This site, Macedonia, is definetly the least productive of the 5 we are running, but I'm hoping activity will pick up at least a little there within a few weeks, when more hatch year birds are around. The most interesting thing we observed yesterday was a very young White-tailed Deer fawn that was curled up in a patch of high grass near one of the nets. It remained in the same spot all morning, allowing me to snap a couple of quick photos.

Today we went to Tilley Bottoms, located in a somewhat dry, second-growth bottomland area near Reaubidoux Creek. A decent amount of bird activity, we ended up with 22 for the morning- 11 of which were caught late morning between 1010 and 1130. 7 of these 22 were recaptures from a previous year- a great recapture rate in my opinion. An Alder Flycatcher was still around and calling this morning, as well as all three species of regularly occuring eastern nightjars- Common Nighthawk, Chuck-will's-widow, and Whip-poor-will.

June 2, 2010 Tilley Bottoms

Bunting, Indigo 2
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 3
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Parula, Northern 1
Thrush, Wood 1
Towhee, Eastern 1
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler, Black-and-white 1
Warbler, Kentucky 1
Woodpecker, Downy 1
Wren, Carolina 3
Yellowthroat, Common 1

It is now absolutely pouring rain here in Devil's Elbow- a strong storm is coming in for the night and there is a possibility of hail later. The wind gusts were so strong a few minutes ago that one blew the apartment door wide open.

Yestrday Karen and I got up at the crack of 3 AM and headed to to Taberville Prairie Conservation area in western Missouri. Home to one of the largest remaining tracts of native tallgrass prairie, it also hosts Missouri's largest group of Greater Prairie-Chickens. We arrived at the prairie-chickens booming grounds early, in hopes to see a few late birds still booming. I had recieved word that they were still going at it earlier in the week, but unfortunately we struck out on the birds yesterday. However, there was plenty of other bird life to keep us occupied. On the drive in, I heard my lifer Western Meadowlark singing out the truck window, but was never able to get a visual on the bird. Dicksissels and Bell's Vireos both seemed to be everywhere, and a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers entertained us with their aerial acrobatics. I finally got my overdue lifer Henslow's Sparrow yesterday as well; there were at least four or five of them singing on small twigs and bushes throughout Taberville Prairie. A pretty nondescript bird overall, although close-range views reveal the intricate, subtle facial and back patterns that this bird has, like many other sparrows. We got great views of many of the pale, stubby Grasshopper Sparrows as well. There was plenty of other wildlife out here besides birds- we saw 3 Common Snapping Turtles, one of which was a baby and not more than two and a half inches long, 1 Three-toed Box Turtle, 1 Ornate Box Turtle, 2 White-taield Deer, an Opossum, and a Raccoon. There were also plenty of butterflies that were attracted to the incredible diversity of wildflowers in the prairie.

We left Taberville Prairie around mid-morning to bird another nearby area, Schell-Osage Conservation Area. The bird life had already begun to quiet down for the day by the time we arrived, so we did not see too awful much. The highlight for here was four Snow Geese, one of which was a blue phase, that were relaxing in the water close to shore on that we viewed while driving in, on the first big lake. Best of all, my lifer Common Merganser, a female, was in the water only several feet away from the geese.

Was just watching an adult Bald Eagle soaring high over my backyard at 1310.

Yesterday, we banded at Laughlin Bottoms, along Reaubodeaux (spelling?) Creek, comprised of mainly second growth cedar and walnut trees, with lots of blackberries and other tangly species, and many warm-season grasses. We caught 22 birds yesterday, the list is below. Today, we caught only 10 birds at a open, upland site known as Miller Pond, partly because we had to close nets early because they were getting too exposed to the sun. A recapture Willow Flycatcher was the highlight of this morning. As we were heading back to Devil's Elbow, just off the base past East Gate, I found a Black Vulture, uncommon in Missouri, soaring with about 15 Turkey Vultures. This was a state bird for Harley- the biologist working with Karen and I, and for me as well.

May 28, 2010 Laughlin Bottoms
Bunting, Indigo 3
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 4
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Titmouse, Tufted 2
Redstart, American 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, White-eyed 3
Warbler, Prairie 1
Waterthrush, Louisiana 2
Yellowthroat, Common 2

May 29, 2010 Miller Pond
Bluebird, Eastern 1
Bunting, Indigo 1
Goldfinch, American 1
Sparrow, Chipping 3
Sparrow, Field 1
Tanager, Summer 1
Warbler, Prairie 1
Wood-Pewee, Eastern 1

Today, Karen and I banded at a bottomland site along the Big Piney River. A productive morning, with 29 birds captured of 14 species. One of the first things I heard upon arrival was the constant buzzy singing of at least three Cerulean Warblers. Kentucky Warblers and American Redstarts were singing almost nonstop for the whole morning. Around mid morning, we were visited by an extremely tame Yellow-throated Warbler who was feeding in the gravel road about 15 feet from where we had the banding operation set up. Normally, these are birds of the treetops, and to see one on the ground at such close range was a real treat. At one point, while I was getting some in-hand photographs of a noisy Yellow-throated Vireo, the warbler near landed on the vireo itself; I guess it was attracted to all the commotion. Today's capture totals are below

Bunting, Indigo 4
Cardinal, Northern 2
Chickadee, Carolina 2
Flycatcher, Acadian 1
Ovenbird 1
Redstart, American 6
Titmouse, Tufted 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Vireo, Yellow-throated 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 2
Warbler, Kentucky 3
Warbler, Worm-eating 1
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Woodpecker, Hairy 2

We started banding at Fort Leonard Wood yesterday at an upland site where it was quite slow, yielding an unimpressive total of 8 birds for the morning. Highlights were a male Black-and-white Warbler and a pair of Summer Tanagers. Today was more eventful, with 20 birds caught over the course of the morning at a bottomland site with mostly very thick second growth habitat dominating. Bird activity in general was good for the first several hours, with 3 species of empidonax flycatchers and eleven species of warblers detected. We ended up catching two of the three empidonax species during the course of the morning- a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and an Alder Flycatcher. Also of interest was two Blue-winged Warbers that we caught close fo lunch time. The list of birds captured is below.

Bunting, Indigo 1
Cardinal, Northern 4
Chat, Yellow-breasted 2
Chickadee, Carolina 1
Cowbird, Brown-headed 1
Flycatcher, Alder 1
Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied 1
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 1
Humingbird, Ruby-throated 1
Ovenbird 1
Thrasher, Brown 1
Towhee, Eastern 1
Vireo, White-eyed 1
Warbler, Blue-winged 2
Yellowthroat, Common 1

Sunday, I made a half day trip to the 4,000+ acre Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, near Columbia, Missouri. This is a very well-known location within the state and apparently can provide some very interesting birding. The habitat here is varied, ranging from bottomland hardwoood forests bordering the Missouri River, to ag fields, to freshwater marshs, to willow thickets.

I did not make up there until about 1030, choosing to catch up on some sleep in the morning instead of leaving at 0430 to be there near frst light. However, considering the fact that I was there from 1030 until 1625, with 95 degree heat bearing down on me, I enjoyed some great birding. Dickcissels occupied every weedy ag field, and in one field I enjoyed fantastic views of a mating pair of the harlequin-patterned Lark Sparrows. In another, I was treated to a Horned Lark display, where the male flys so high until he is barely a speck in the sun and begin singing. Gradually, he drops altitude, until at about 50-100 feet he drops like an asteroid back to earth, but in a zig zag pattern. Another field hosted a Mississippi Kite; flying low, hunting for small prey. Walking along the edges of some of these fields bordered by thick willows or brush, I would occasionally hear the speedy, electric song of the Bell's Vireo. Always the skulker, many of these birds proved difficult to locate, although I managed to get nice views of my lifer bell's, which was actually one of the first birds I saw upon arriving at Eagle Bluffs. I was also privileged to the oriole-like song of several Warbling Vireos in the tall sycamores and cottonwoods (?) along the river bank. The freshwater marshes held many Red-winged Blackbirds, and at least one spot I heard a Marsh Wren singing. I was unsuccesful at relocating a Least Bittern which was observed the day before; early morning or early evening, when they would be more apt to calling, would be best to locate these secretive birds. There were also several expanses of open freshwater at Eagle Bluffs, most of which had unseasonbly high water levels. This may have played into my favor, for at one spot at least 100 Black Terns were feeding, looking like giant swallows swooping and maneuvering just above the water. I counted 17 Forster's Terns in this same area as well, but these were, for the most part, flying and circling higher in the sky, maybe at 100 feet, making quite a disturbing ruckus. From other reports, 11-13 Common Terns showed up later in the day after I had left. Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were a common site along the water edges, and I found two Spotted Sandpipers feeding along the banks at different times. 32 Semipalmated Sandpipers were hanging out by one of the spotteds. All six swallow species were present at the conservation area, mostly barns and northern rough-wingeds, with a single Purple Martin, two Tree Swallows, and a single Bank Swallow. A bridge on the edge of the property was home to a colony of at least 110 Cliff Swallows, probably substantially more. I think Cliff Swallows look like robust bats while flying. I ended up with either 68 or 69 species for the afternoon, and plan to make an all day trip with an early start in the not-to-far future.

Thanks to local Audubon member Mike Doyen for cooking up such a declicious spread for us bird banders last night. Went out to Fort Leonard Wood today and met a lot of the people we'll be interacting with over the summer, but didn't get to set up poles because of inclement weather and military activity. I plan on birding the Bohegian Conservation Area this evening if the weather holds.

Internet access has still been spotty for me during the last couple of days, I finally get a chance to post a little something on here. Below i've listed the banding totals for the last several days (alphabetically), it was exciting to catch several Mourning Warblers. There has been a male Mourning singing sporadically at the training site first thing in the morning over the last several days. These totals are from our training area at Tanager Trails Ozarks Nature Reserve, a 64-acre tract owned by Ozark Rivers Audubon on the north side of Rolla. We have only been running a maximum of five nets this week. Sunday, we will start banding at Fort Leonard Wood, where we will be at the rest of the summer.

May 16
Robin, American 2
Thrush, Swainson's 4
Thrush, Wood 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Warbler, Mourning 1
Warbler, Wilson's 1
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Wren, Carolina 1
Yellowthroat, Common 1
Total: 13 indiv., 9 species

May 17
Cardinal, Northern 1
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 3
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 2
Grosbeak, Rose-breasted 1
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Redstart, American 1
Robin, American 1
Thrasher, Brown 1
Thrush, Swainson's 4
Thrush, Wood 1
Vireo, White-eyed 4
Vireo, Red-eyed 1
Warbler, Canada 2
Warbler, Hooded 1
Warbler, Magnolia 2
Warbler, Mourning 2
Yellowthroat, Common 1
Total: 31 Indiv., 18 species

May 18
Bunting, Indigo 2
Chat, Yellow-breasted 1
Cardinal, Northern 2
Catbird, Gray 2
Flicker, Northern (Yellow-shafted) 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 5
Goldfinch, American 2
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 2
Jay, Blue 1
Ovenbird 1
Robin, American 1
Thrasher, Brown 1
Thrush, Swainson's 7
Vireo, White-eyed 2
Warbler,Kentucky 1
Warbler, Magnolia 1
Warbler, Mourning 1
Warbler, Tennessee 1
Warbler, Wilson's 3
Waterthrush, Louisiana 1
Yellowthroat, Common 2
Total: 40 Indiv., 21 species

May 19
Cardinal, Northern 1
Flycatcher, Acadian 2
Goldfinch, American 1
Oriole, Orchard 1
Robin, American 5
Thrush, Swainson's 4
Towhee, Eastern 1
Vireo, Red-eyed 2
Warbler, Magnolia 2
Total: 19 Indiv., 9 species

As I am sitting at Panera Bread typing this blog, a lady in a Ford Probe accelerated her car (on purpose from what I was told from a bystander) and jumped the curb behind the restaraunt, got airborne, and landed 50-100 feet below at the bottom of a steep hill beside Interstate 44 E.
Still no Internet access at the apartment, so my posts will be brief and to the point until I do. About to meet the past president of the local Audubon Society chapter with Karen and Harley for a nice homeade steak dinner. He has told me about some good places to find Greater Prairie-Chicken, Henslow's Sparrow, and Bell's Vireo that are fairly close by, so that will give me something to do in the coming weeks during my spare time.

I arrived about 0910 today in Rolla, Missouri, where Karen (the other intern that I will be working with) and I will complete a weeks worth of basic bird banding training before heading to Fort Leonard Wood to start the summer banding season. I birded around Tanager Trails for several hours before Karen and the IBP biologist arrived, and even though it was raining a good portion of the time, I managed to find 4 Wilsons Warblers, 3 Tennessee Warblers, a female Golden-winged Warbler, a second year male American Redstart, a male Magnolia Warbler, a singing Kentucky Warbler, and one or two Nashville Warblers. I also had both waterthrushes, Ovenbird, Northern Parula, and Yellow-breasted Chat. I also finally got my lifer Olive-sided Flycatcher at Tanager Trails about 1030 this morning!

We only had two nets open for 2 or 3 hours this afternoon, but caught a Wood Thrush, Northern Cardinal, Brown Thrasher, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and two Acadian Flycatchers.

Our apartment is very nice, situated on a small, wooded mountaintop just off Route 66 in the small town of Devil's Elbow, MO.

Well the rainy weather moved out during the night, and this morning was sunny, warmer, and with a slight breeze. Perfect conditions for migrants to arrive after that rainy front finally pushed out. And indeed, there were birds this morning. The boardwalk held warblers everywhere, some of the trees looked like they had yellow, blue, and red ornaments hanging from them and moving around. And there were birders EVERYWHERE today too, even more than Monday. There were flocks of 15-20 species of neotropical migrants containing 30 or more individual birds in several places around the Magee Marsh boardwalk and parking lot. Highlights of the short morning included Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, fantastic looks at a male Mourning Warbler, a Wilson's Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, and truckloads of American Redstarts everywhere. Lots of Magnolias, Nashvilles, Chestnut-sideds, Northern Waterthrushes, Yellow-rumpeds, and a handful of Canadas. A few Blackburnians, Cape Mays, Bay-breasteds, BT Greens, BT Blues, Black-and-whites, Blackpolls, Northern Parulas, and Tennessees seemed to be ever present as well.

The main highlight of the day, which still has me in a good mood to this moment, was seen at the Magee East Beach, about 300 yards east of the parking lot, by Kenn Kaufman about 0920. As soon as I recieved the Twitter alert for this bird, I hurried off the boardwalk and down to east beach, which is less than a quarter mile away. As of 0930, when I arrived, Kenn Kaufman was still the only person there. I made my way down the beach to where he was standing, and he pointed out a beautiful male KIRTLAND'S WARBLER. The bird was foraging about 50 feet from the lake shore, in some willow saplings and 10-15 foot tall sumac. It would feed along the ground and low in the willows and then hop onto a branch 1-2 feet high periodically and sing. I was viewing it for about thirty seconds when i lowered my binoculars and looked to the west, to see a thundering herd of birders (yes, there is such a thing!), about 300 of them in my estimation, young and old, walking and running along the shore, making a beeline for where Kenn and I were standing. I remarked to Kenn, "there's a few more people making there way to where we're at". Soon enough, many were joining us in observing this amazing bird. After a minute of two, around 60 people were standing elbow to elbow, jostling for a better look. This is when I decided to head out, for I wanted to check out the west end of the boardwalk one last time before I had to hit the interstate. I had seen my share of the bird, and I was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic with all those people surrounding me. However, that memory of standing there with Kenn, watching a male Kirtland's Warbler feeding along the south shore of Lake Erie, and then lowering by Audubon 10X42's to see a chaotic mass of people hurrying towards us like they were being chased by a tidal wave, will remain etched in my memory for a long time to come.

The Kirtland's Warbler was unbanded, which I think is very interesting since I assume that all the birds belonging to known Michigan populations are probably banded and heavily studied. I was so excited when I got to Magee East Beach that I completely forgot that I owned a camera and telephoto lens. Which is unfortunate since I could have got some amazing shots. The bird was extremely cooperative and easily within photographic range. It was still being seen as of 1630, and I'm sure many other birders and photographers got some amazing shots. A picture of part of the crowd that was taken shortly after I left can be found here: http://twitpic.com/1nowoq . Two more photos of this spectacle can be found on the right side of the page under the heading "More Photos".

I did not take a photograph of a single bird today. The swarms of neotropical migrants were just too overwhelming for me to even think about taking my camera out of the bag. In four hours of birding along the west end of the Magee Boardwalk, the west end of the boardwalk parking area, Magee East beach, and driving down the causeway, I ended up with 25 species of warblers and 74 species of birds. There was a constant stream of Blue Jays, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Kingbids migrating overhead this morning. I really had to prod myself to leave at 1110 today, I could have spent all morning watching the warblers, flycatchers, vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, and Baltimore Orioles moving through the trees by the parking area.

My list of warblers observed this morning is below (in alphabetical order); I only birded a small area for a very short time (0710 to 1110), and only saw a very small percentage of all the birds that were there. I did not even really bird past marker 6 on the boardwalk (there are 33 total). No telling how many individual birds as well as other species I missed.

American Redstart 38
Bay-breasted Warbler 6
Black-and-white Warbler 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler 6
Black-throated Green Warbler 8
Blackburnian Warbler 4
Blackpoll Warbler 7
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Canada Warbler 9
Cape May Warbler 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler 9
Common Yellowthroat 8
Golden-winged Warbler 1
Kirtland's Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 13
Mourning Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 7
Northern Parula 4
Northern Waterthrush 10
Ovenbird 4
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Tennessee Warbler 4
Wilson's Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 17
Yellow-rumped Warbler 17

Other migrants of note:
Baltimore Oriole 13
Barn Swallow 6
Blue-headed Vireo 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Blue Jay 167+
Eastern Kingbird 10+
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 8
Great-crested Flycatcher 5
Least Flycatcher 6
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Scarlet Tanager 15
Swainson's Thrush 2
Tree Swallow 195+
Veery 1
Warbling Vireo 5
Willow Flycatcher 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 1

The Magee parking lot looked like the front of Wal-Mart in terms of numbers of vehicles. The west and east parking lots were almost completely full, and the expansive middle lot still had about 80 to 100 cars. There must have been thousands of birders down there at once this morning. I had to fight to make my way through the first 6 markers of the boardwalk, both railings were packed elbow to elbow. There also were about 200 people birding along the western edge of the parking lot about 0830. In one spot just to the east of the boardwalk's western entrance, I counted approximately 70 people standing in about a 50 square yard area watching warblers, tanagers, and orioles.

Miscellanious observations from today: The swallow swarms from the last two days have dissipated. Only had two species today at Magee. Admittedly, I was consumed by warblers all morning, but swallow numbers were noticeable down. Nashville Warbler numbers were down slightly today. Thrush numbers down too. Great views of the male Mourning, observed it foraging and hopping (instead of walking like Connecticut) along the ground, periodically coming into the open to perch on a low branch. There were 18 species of warblers seen this morning in a very short period of time during a spur of the moment "big sit" at Black Swamp Bird Observatory. A "Brewster's Warbler" was observed by several people along the west end of the boardwalk earlier this afternoon. At least 3 Mournings, 2 Blue-wingeds, and 2 Wilson's were present along the boardwalk during the course of the day.

The entire area of northwestern Ohio is spectacular, with grid pattern roads dominated by agricultural fields, many of which are goood for shorebirds. The marshes close to the lake are good for swans, geese, terns, coots, moorhens, grebes, and some late waterfowl. The woodlots by the lakeshore is where all the migrants are congregating.

My four and half days of birding at Magee Marsh was one of the most productive, enjoyable, and interesting birding experiences I have ever had. I ended up with 136 species and 28 species of warblers. A good total considering the often rainy and stormy weather, and that I only birded a few limited areas. Thanks especially to Black Swamp Bird Observatory for their knowledgeable and helpful staff, and for helping organize this event they call the "Biggest Week in American Birding". It is certainly aptly named. And thanks to Kim Kaufman for buying my lunch today as well!

I am really hoping that I will be able to come back next year, hopefully for at least a week. Now that I know the area and how the event is set up, I have some ideas about what I would do different.

Tonight I am staying in Eureka, Missouri, about 80 miles east of Rolla, where I will begin MAPS training tomorrow. Not sure if I will have internet access during hte next few days, I will post again when I have the chance. Here's for the best!

A decent day of birding today. A thunderstorm with heavy rain in the morning, with the clouds giving way to a little bit of blue sky in the afternoon. Again, mostly the same birds along the boardwalk this morning, since this weather has been lingering. I had some great photo ops of a Blackburnian Warbler, and about the best view I have ever had of one. Lots of Nashville Warblers today. At Metzger Marsh today, there was a nice migrant flock moving around in the woodlot by the parking area- containing 13 species of warbler, 2 species of empid (Least and "Traill's"), along with a Wood and Gray-cheeked Thrush. Among the warblers were a singing male Canada and a singing male Wilson's. The Black Terns were still present over the marsh. I then proceeded to Krause road, where a third Yellow-headed Blackbird (this one a male) was reported earlier in the day. The wind was howling, and I stuck out on the blackbirds. However, there were 5 Black-bellied Plovers in breeding plumage, 8 Short-billed Dowitchers, and about 70 Lesser Yellowlegs near the observation platform off Stange Road.

I leaned today why the swallows suddenly were swarming yesterday evening and today at Magee- they are feeding on the Muffinheads- a small, abundant insect-which have apparently just emerged with the recent rain.

During the few days I've been up here, I have been absolutely amazed by all the other birders, in particular other young birders (anywhere between about 5 and 25 years old), and all the Amish birders. There were lots of Amish kids birding along the Magee boardwalk the last few days, and the kids outnumbered the adults several to one. Such a striking difference from North Carolina, where you'll be lucky to see another birder all day long.

Tomorrow should be good for the start of a new wave of migrants- this rainy weather should move out by early to mid morning. There were numbers of diurnal migrants on the move this evening- mainly Broad-winged Hawks and large flocks of Blue Jays, which may mean there'll be a new selection in tomorrow. I'll head out to the boardwalk about 0630 tomorrow morning and bird untill 1100 or 1200, then I'll be making tracks towards Missouri!

Unfortunately, the weather today was not as good as forecasted- temperatures remained between 50 and 55 degrees and the sun stayed hidden all day. Still birds around, just a bit harder to find. The Magee Boardwalk held some new things this morning- several Indigo Buntings, a couple male Scarlet Tanagers, noticably more Blackburnian and Tennessee Warblers, and lots more Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. However, most migrants were staying high in the trees today and were harder to see and identify. Ottawa NWR held a few shorebirds today- Least, Semi, Pectoral, Spotted, Solitary Sandpipers, both yellowlegs, and many Dunlin. Great close views of Trumpeter Swan along the entrance road. Along Krause Road a second female Yellow-headed Blackbird had joined the single one I found yesterday. I visited Metzger Marsh this afternoon and had a late Ruddy Duck and Lesser Scaup, a scattering of warblers, and seven Black Terns, along with several Common Moorhens, one of which was on a nest. This evening, the swarms of swallows along the Magee Causeway held numerous Trees, Barns, and Banks, along with a healthy number of Purple Martins and a handful of Cliff Swallows. I had three Northern Rough-wingeds earlier in the day, completing a sweep on all possible swallow species. At about 20:45 this evening I made my way to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory to watch the famous woodcock displays- which left me completely in awe. Today's species total: 106. Will add to this post tomorrow when I am not about to fall asleep on the laptop.

Today was wet to say the least. Despite pouring rain and high winds for most of the day, I made my way back and forth between the Magee Boardwalk and parts of Ottawa NWR. The boardwalk held most of the same species as it did yesterday, although I noted fewer numbers of most, which is to be expected considering the weather. However, I did get a Wilson's Warbler near the east end of the boardwalk, around marker 23, which I did not have yesterday. This, and my lifer Yellow-headed Blackbird (a female, which I got on Krause Road by Ottawa NWR) proved to be the biggest highlights of the day for me. Despite the lousy weather, I still managed to crack the 80 species barrier for the day. In addition, I saw two Mink. I also ran into a couple of friends from Moore County again this afternoon (I saw them yesterday too), as well as a fellow I birded a lot with in Florida during the Space Coast festival in January. Listened to a great talk by Kenn Kaufman this evening on the patterns of bird migration. It really helped give some insight to the distribution of many of these neotropical migrants during the spring and fall, and why some species are more prone to vagrancy than others.

If this rain moves out tonight like it's supposed to, then the birding tomorrow could shape up to be great since it is supposed to be a bit warmer as well. Hopefully there will be some turnover in the migrants that have been around, and some new things will come in. Tomorrow I'll meet up with Mecklenburg Audubon and check out the boardwalk in the AM, and possibly drop by BSBO to check out a banding demo. They have a huge bird banding program during migration here, in which they band thousands of birds every spring. I plan on heading to Ottawa NWR and Metzger Marsh in the afternoon to search for shorebirds (white-rumped, bairds, turnstones, SB dowitcher, etc. that have been seen), some recently observed American White Pelicans, along with waterfowl and more open country birds such as Grasshopper Sparrow. Since I don't have a lecture to attent tomorrow evening, I plan on heading to the BSBO's Gallager trail about 20:00 to check out the often-talked about woodcock displays. Off to bed very early tonight, sleep deprivation is kicking in already...

The Magee boardwalk really does live up to the hype. Nashvilles, Cape Mays, Black-throated Blues, Black-throated Greens, Yellows, Chestnut-sideds, Magnolias, Bay-breasteds, Prothonotarys (the list goes onnnnn) all gave ample photo ops at extremely close range and maybe 15 feet off the ground, tops. A female Golden-winged Warbler and a male lifer Mourning Warbler were probably the two most unusual Parulids of the day for me. The boardwalk also held many Baltimore Orioles, tons of Veeries, a handful of Gray-cheeked Thrushes, a Philadelphia Vireo, and 6 or 7 Warbling Vireos. However, a spectacle even more amazing then the birds, in my opinion, was the sheer number of birders and geared up bird photographers that were at this 1 to 1.5 mile strech of boardwalk that meanders through 7 acres of woods and edge. For example, I was competing with about 150 to 200 people, conservatively, for a view of the Mourning Warbler.

I also visited several other adjacent parts of Magee Marsh Wildlife Area today. Best birds other than on the boardwalk was my lifer Trumpeter Swan, a pair of Blue-winged Teal, a pair of Gadwall, several Least Sandpipers, two Whie-crowned Sparrow along the beach on Lake Erie, and a handful of Bald Eagles. Equally interesting was the numbers of Yellow Warblers I observed throughout the whole area today, I ended up with a very conservative tally of 51. My days final list came to 81 species, including 24 warblers.

The weather is not looking too good for tomorrow, but I plan on birding Ottawa NWR for a bit if the weather allows. Off to bed now, another long day ahead

Got to my motel at Port Clinton, Ohio a little bit ago. A long day of driving, about 11 hours and 650 miles from Southern Pines. Lots of swallows, mostly barns with a few rough-wings mixed in, are flying around over the bay behing the motel. A Green Heron passed over along with a Great Blue as well. I already met a few other birders that are staying in the room adjacent to mine, and they were saying the birding's been great the last couple days up here. Hoping for the best tomorrow!