Sunday September 28. 21 new of 10 species; 15 recaps. A disappointing day as showers move in. Karen Velas arrives from California bearing gift of the newly published Part 2 of Pyle’s Guide to North American Birds. Birds of the day are Blackpoll Warbler and White-throated Sparrow with just 4 banded of each.

Monday September 29. 134 new of 25 species; 19 recaps. We start out slow but eventually the birds pick up. Kelly Dockery works all day on the gardens. Bird of the day is Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 25 banded.

Tuesday September 30. 96 new of 22 species; 17 recaps. New species Orange-crowned Warbler. We open and close nets to cope with off-again on-again showers but we still have a good day with 23 Ruby-crowned Kinglets banded.

Wednesday October 1. 72 new of 21 species; 24 recaps. New species White-eyed Vireo and Scarlet Tanager. We dodge rain showers again and get quality rather than quantity with a beautiful White-eyed Vireo and a young female Scarlet Tanager. Bird of the day is White-throated Sparrow with 27 banded.

Thursday October 2. 132 new of 22 species; 10 recaps. Sue Evans mends nets for us as we get ready for the North American Banding Council (NABC) Certification Session this weekend. Bird of the day is Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 39 banded.

Friday October 3. 268 new of 25 species; 30 recaps. We dodge showers and have a fantastic day banding 68 White-throated Sparrows and 6 warbler species including 40 Yellow-rumped Warblers! NABC Candidates and Trainers begin arriving; the two Trainer candidates practice their presentations before the RIT Bander Training Class.

Saturday October 4. 179 new of 21 species; 26 recaps. We have testing and evaluation of candidates all day while banding 179 birds with only part of our regular net set-up. Bird of the day is White-throated Sparrow with 73 banded. Congratulations to Mark Deutschlander of Canandaigua, NY, Richard Joos of Toronto, Canada, Gretchen Putonen of Brewster, MA, and Karen Velas of Oakland, CA who all passed the Bander-level Certification. And special congratulations to Mark Deutschlander and Richard Joos who went on to earn their Trainer-level Certification.

Note: BIC = "bander-in-charge"