A beautiful day on the island and a moderate number of birds banded (B31), most before noon. Crystal Lake was better for bird watching rather than mist netting. Birds were definitely attracted to the water. Crystal Lake is now more appropriately called Crystal Puddle and it’s also where there are some mud flats and a few shorebirds ( 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers and 2 Least Sandpipers). The swale is all dried up.
Marie arrived to do a final cleanup of Celia Thaxter’s garden.
A Brown Creeper came in for banding. I have not seen that species in many seasons.
The big excitement for the day was the discovery of a Common Nighthawk roosting on the ridge line of Bartels mid-afternoon. Kiah and I were coming back from Crystal Lake. Two Northern Mockingbirds were putting up a fuss and darting up toward the roofline of Bartels; then Kiah spotted the CONI. Once again, expect the unexpected on Appledore!
Sunny greetings from Peg, Susan, Martha and Kiah
