So - remember how I wrote just last weekend that 52 birds in a weekend was approaching the best ever? And that 40 birds in a day WAS the best ever? Well - we knocked off one of those records this past weekend! West winds on Saturday brought us 33 birds, and the beginning of Sunday was also west, so we had 22 by 12:30 before it shifted SE. So - everyone, everyone - 55 birds for the weekend!And it didn't stop with just numbers. I told Rick, one of the sub-banders that our luck was so good, we should try for unicorns, since we already pulled in two mythical species already. We got not only a hatch year male American kestrel, but also a hatch year Broad-winged hawk! Both of those are very tough birds to convince to come in for us.
Wait - what's this? Actually - we got 35 birds on Saturday - two Blue Jays found their way in our nets. We didn't band them, since our permit is not for passerines, but they sure were pretty!
I don't think the new M Knight Shamalan movie "Devil" did so well this weekend. He should have used this AHY female Sharp-shinned hawk! AAAAHHHHH!
We did get three merlins in addition to the shins, kestrel and broad-wing. Todd lets it go after it has new jewelry! You can see that the unfamiliar weight of the band makes the leg hang down for just a moment. The bird will get used to this in no time.
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