Yesterday was very foggy in the morning until around noon and was cloudy for much of the afternoon until it cleared for a beautiful evening. Must have been the arrival of Peg around 5:00!
It was a day of Red-eyed Vireos (23, almost half of our 50 birds banded) and flycatchers (18). We also had 3 Mourning Warblers and a female Red-breasted Nuthatch with a brood patch! Susan was attacked by a hummingbird – when she tried to get it out of the net, it escaped, hit her in the head, and then flew off! We were a bit jealous of the Black-billed Cuckoo that Field Ornithology banded since the three of us haven’t had one in our nets yet.
Sightings of an Olive-sided Flycatcher and two Glossy Ibis were a treat in the evening. Susan and I had multiple heart stopping moments as we watched a brood of eider chicks tumble 30 feet or so down the cliff edge of Devil’s Dance Floor. They were shepherded by several females as they jumped down into the rocks, looking like mini bean bags falling down on their head, back, side, or face and looking like they couldn’t possibly survive the fall. Yikes! Mom actually pushed one of the off the rock with her foot. I was afraid they would get caught in the rocks and I was ready to rescue them, but all 9 made it safely to water.
Gull chicks are hatching and we are enjoying the birds around us.
Hi to all,
Becky, Susan, and Peg
