Daily report – Monday, 9/5

Hello there! Welcome to the strangest day I have ever experienced on Appledore Island! The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine gave us utter amazements. I don’t ever remember a whole day of strong NE winds with absolutely clear skies. The surf was terrific!! We caught 1 retrap at about 11:00, the next retrap after supper and the final 2 birds came in for closing – way too close to dark. This is no way to teach a class in how to handle birds!! I think this is the smallest number of birds ever on Appledore when all the regular nets ran all day. The 2 highlights of observed birds were Andy’s Red-breasted Merganser in Broad Cove, and the Pectoral Sandpiper in Crystal Lake. Andy & Jan gritted their teeth, and exercised their bums doing fall data entry – BLESS THEM!! The DTD people are being wonderfully resilient. But, please remind the gods that we do not like having to learn still more patience!!! David, Andy, Jan, Betsy, Kathy, & Susan

The seawall between Cedar and Star Islands
The seawall between Cedar and Star Islands
Kathy admiring the view
Kathy admiring the view
Susan at the Sneaker Tree.   When we have no birds we get to explore evidence of the local madness on Appledore!  HORRORS!!  : )
Susan at the Sneaker Tree. When we have no birds we get to explore evidence of the local madness on Appledore! HORRORS!! : )
Andy & Jan  exercising their bums doing data entry!
Andy & Jan exercising their bums doing data entry!

Daily report – Sunday, 9/4

Hi all! My Dangle Tangle Class arrived Sunday afternoon. This may put a SERIOUS crimp in the sending of reports! Sept. 4th. was notable for the addition of 3 species to our birds banded list; Yellow-shafted Flicker, Brown Thrasher, and Lincoln’s Sparrow. It was also notable for the total of juvenile waxwings banded (see chart)! Nuthatches have slowed but there were 2 young Mockingbirds aggressively playing around the garden. We did a demo for the Ocean Ecology adult class and they enjoyed themselves enough to be late for brunch. Ninfa and Shelby disappeared at 2:00 leaving me alone until 5:00. Accomplishment occurred but it’s never enough! It’s the recurring theme for the season. May you be more successful at filing finished accomplishments!! Jan and Andy came with the class and we all wish you either great success at your labor – or a grand respite from your labor!!

Lincoln's Sparrow - interesting tail!
Lincoln’s Sparrow – interesting tail!
The Thrasher - always impressive!
The Thrasher – always impressive!
Shelby & Ninfa! Thanks for your help and kindnesses!
Shelby & Ninfa! Thanks for your help and kindnesses!

Daily report – Saturday, 9/3

Hi! It’s late and the Dangle Tangle Class has arrived. Hope this can be short but there is some very nice news in it! Saturday was another sort of ploddy day at the nets with very modest numbers and no new species. Some nice news was the total of 9 night-herons of both species and a single Lark Sparrow that actually allowed good views. Being able to get all over the Island helped day’s list – nicely!! David, Ninfa, and Shelby actually wished for more hours in this day! I would guess our experience was similar to yours but I would bet that ours was more fun.

Sorry! I can’t find the pictures that I thought people had taken to go with this report. I’ve got too many for the 4th. though. Practice patience! Cheers, David

Daily report – Friday, 9/2

Further greetings and smiles!! We awoke to a very gentle northwest breeze. In the “old days” this would have produced a major flight of birds. Not this year! Not last year!! What is happening out there??? Look at our nuthatch and catbird totals!! Imagine this season without nuthatches!! Catbirds are definitely increasing and it is such fun to see the fuzzy messes we put bands on 2 weeks ago coming back to see us looking wonderfully sleek and handsome on the outside no matter how many feather pins are still emerging on the inner layers. Shelby spotted our first hummingbird for the season – and yes, the feeder has been filled with fresh joy juice. She also spotted a Glossy Ibis in the Swimming Pool that stayed only briefly. The Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are still regular visitors there though. Cora left us fairly suddenly this morning – a victim of the boat schedule so Ninfa, Shelby, and David are enjoying learning in amazingly beautiful surroundings! We have joy to share!!

The season's 100th Gray Catbird, HY-U
The season’s 100th Gray Catbird, HY-U

Daily report – Thursday, 9/1

Wow! Notice the late timing (it’s almost supper time). What a difference an experienced band-aide can make even for simple chores!! Anyway, we are discussing Thursday, 1 Sept. It followed another night of boring SSW winds – but they were a little bit lighter than the previous 2 days and a few creatures apparently flew. Check out the Nuthatch total – and the Purple Finch total. My memory is not razor sharp but my feeling is that it has been a long time since both PUFI’s and RBNU’s flew in the same year. The Eastern Boreal forest cone crop must be nonexistent!! Bling was applied to 2 “Threats”, the lady being originally banded as an ASY-F on 18 May 2013. The guy was from this spring. Sally left (boo hiss!) but Shelby arrived : ). We ended up spending so much time in the nets that we went nowhere else on Island except the dining hall and our day’s list (23 species) is dreadful. The gulls have nearly completely pulled out. I’m listing them as “Saw Several” for the first time ever! Cora, David, Ninfa, and Shelby have decided to enjoy the uncharacteristic quiet of current Appledore. Could you?

Her
Her
Him
Him
Interesting wing work from our guy with bling!
Interesting wing work from our guy with bling!

Daily report – Wednesday, 8/31

Hi again! This is taking too long. Our band-aides keep bringing in points of interest. But, Wednesday ? The winds were forecast to be SW on Tuesday night/Wednesday and they followed the forecast. The birds were also predictable – scant – but signs of restlessness are out there. The Wilson’s Warbler was new for the season. A Kingbird is always wonderful and the plethora of Catbirds is simply astounding. Most of them are coming in with smooth outer feathers now even if they are all still molting under their robes. Not a single Waterthrush was either seen or caught! We ran Crystal Lake from breakfast until dinner with pretty meager results. Ninfa’s American Oystercatcher up by Sandpiper Beach was definitely the sighting of the day. We are starting to think about gull resightings and David is wondering how he accomplishes so little when the birds are so few. Cora, David, Ninfa, & Sally send you the memory of yet another gorgeous Appledore sunset!!

Current state of Crystal Lake
Current state of Crystal Lake
Hatch-year female Wilson's Warbler
Hatch-year female Wilson’s Warbler
Sunset 2
Sunset Part 1
Sunset 1
Sunset Part 2

Daily report – Tuesday, 8/30

Salud! from a modest but pleasing day on Appledore. The NOWA’s (Northern Waterthrushes) attempted to catch up with the GRCA’s (Gray Catbirds). We began to catch up to a normal species total by bringing in Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, a Philadelphia Vireo, and an Ovenbird. The very baby House Wren was an unexpected pleasure while the 12th Cape May Warbler was a real delight after so many years of 1 to 3 per season. A Green-winged Teal in Crystal Lake finally stayed around long enough for a confirming photo and a Lark Sparrow did a fly-over that was not repeated. Cora and Ninfa appeared in the morning and Lindsay disappeared in the afternoon with her computer. We’ve discovered that a second computer is truly helpful out here because most of the work I brought for slow days involves my computer and nobody’s smart phones or I-Pads will host Sara’s flash drive. Lindsay got several pages of Fall data put on the flash drive though. The Childe Hassam art show cooperating curators arrived on Island to see all these painting locations for themselves, people came to visit from Star Is., and our own “artist colony” is happily active. Cora, Ninfa, Sally, & David hope you are also learning and experiencing neat stuff like we are.

This waxwing went to parakeet training school: he would walk up our fingers when prompted
This waxwing went to parakeet training school: he would walk up our fingers when prompted
SO nice not to be HERE! Ross on Bartels
SO nice not to be HERE! Ross on Bartels
Regularly timed Appledore activity
Regularly timed Appledore activity
Regularly timed Appledore SOCIAL activity.
Regularly timed Appledore SOCIAL activity.

Daily report – Monday, 8/29

Happy greetings in spite of south winds Sunday night – Monday. We still added a species to our season totals, had more Cape May’s and even another Blackburnian Warbler. The season’s first Northern Harrier flew by at lunch time and another Peregrine flew by at dinner. We should spend more time in Commons! We see birds from there! We enjoyed both Night-Herons, Snowy Egrets, and a Great Blue Heron so our species list for the day was a season high (40). Lindsay got this fall’s 0’s entered onto Sara’s flash drive. David found his left side hearing aid!! and got a season of narratives collected and printed. Sally continues to learn extraction and ID’s and takes some pretty neat pictures. Accomplishments abound! May you also feel so fortunate! David, Lindsay, & Sally send you warm and positive Island satisfactions.

Lindsay and mystery bird
Lindsay and mystery bird
Oh! It BITES!!
Oh! It BITES!!
Second year male Purple Finch -- totally in character
Second year male Purple Finch — totally in character

Daily report – Sunday, 8/28

Happy greetings from happy banders! Sunday was a sleeper! Wind went from very little out of the southwest last dusk to very little out of the east at dawn. And it brought us an unexpectedly real Appledore sort of day. : ) 4 new warbler species plus one that used to be a warbler highlighted the nets but the grown-up Kingbird crown produced some awesome exclamations! And of course, this was our best banding total so far. The nicest sighting was the young Black-crowned Night-Heron in gorgeous light at Broad Cove – and I had taken the telescope, not the camera. Lindsay arrived just in time for supper so we have some schedule flexibility again. The art and photography show opened this evening and possibly the most stunning photos were of the Herring Gull who was acting like a deranged Cardinal over his reflection in the sliding glass door of Commons. Sally, Lindsay, and David are delighted to share with you the varied pleasures of Appledore Is.

Sunday brunch on Appledore
Sunday brunch on Appledore
Sunday brunch time in the banding station
Sunday brunch time in the banding station
Adult male Cape May Warbler
Adult male Cape May Warbler
Adult male American Redstart
Adult male American Redstart
Adult female Eastern Kingbird
Adult female Eastern Kingbird with red crown feathers

Daily report – Saturday, 8/27

Hello there! The weather actually worked! The first 2 rounds were dismal. From then on, the tortoise took over – slow and steady even through the normal “down” times. See the chart! It is the biggest day so far this season (even though that is not saying much) and we added 3 species to our season total. I so enjoy numbers of Cape May Warblers because they were here in numbers when I started banding here 40 years ago. Then the Spruce Budworms got controlled in the Maritimes and numbers of Cape Mays, Tennessees, and Bay-breasted’s plummeted. I had a forestry type person tell me that the Budworms tend to run in 40 year cycles and they are increasing in eastern Canada again. And so are Cape May Warblers : ) . Our net rounds were small enough that Sally got lots of extracting experience and we stayed busy enough that we couldn’t stay up the hill to eat. (See picture!) It was a truly enjoyable day for the birds though and perhaps we WILL find the other hearing aid that slipped out of my ear on Saturday! Cheers and birds from David and Sally.

Sunrise at 6:00
Sunrise at 6:00
Handsome bird, Black-and-white Warbler, HY-M
Handsome bird: Black-and-white Warbler, HY-M
Another handsome bird, Cape May Warbler, HY-M
Another handsome bird: Cape May Warbler, HY-M
Busy day dinner
Busy day dinner
Sunset at about 7:20
Sunset at about 7:20