Sunday September 30. 116 new bands of 19 species; 17 recaps. Bird of the day is White-throated Sparrow with 62 banded. Four Eastern Tufted Titmice are a handful!

Monday October 1. 42 new of 16 species; 22 recaps. It’s another warm day with winds from the wrong direction (we need N quadrant winds to get the birds migrating). A class from the Neil Armstrong school spends part of the morning at the banding station learning about migration and birds. Several students tell us that it’s the best field trip they’ve ever had!

Tuesday October 2. 42 new of 16 species; 13 recaps; new species Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Another warm, sunny and very slow day. Showers in mid-morning shut us down but not before two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers brighten our day.

Wednesday October 3. 33 new of 14 species; 22 recaps; new species Blue Jay. We have seen fairly large flocks of Blue Jays migrating during the day and finally catch our first of the season.

Thursday October 4. 202 new of 30 species; 36 recaps. We hear lots of thrush ‘chips’ overhead when we open up the nets and there is fog and mist in the banding area. Peter Doherty, Reseaech Assistant from fall 2004, is back for a visit and we have the best day of the season so far. We band 55 White-throated Sparrows, 29 Hermit Thrush and 13 Brown Creepers along with 5 warbler species (Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Western Palm and Common Yellowthroat.

Friday October 5. 86 new of 22 species; 15 recaps. After a magnificent “keep ‘em coming” bacon and pancake breakfast cooked by Peter Doherty, we have a good day. At 5 PM we begin the NABC Bander and Trainer Certification Session, which will go on all weekend. Trainers are Betsy Brooks, Mary Doscher (New Jersey), Sue Finnegan (Massachusetts), Anthony Hill (Massachusetts), David Holmes (Maryland), Erin Karnatz, and Hannah Suthers (New Jersey).

Saturday October 6. 128 new of 22 species; 14 recaps; new species Common Grackle. As usual, there is a plentiful supply of birds around to test the bander and trainer candidates. We band 46 White-throated Sparrows, 14 Black-capped Chickadees and 11 Common Grackles (the first of the season).

Note: BIC = "bander-in-charge"