Bird facts of the day:
- Male and female birds develop brood patches when they have eggs and hatchlings in the nest. They drop feathers from their stomach and the blister-like patch fills with fluid in order to better keep the nest warm.
- Some birds have whiskers.
Most Thursdays we will be banding at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland. These days are open to the public so anyone can come watch us do our work.
Yesterday I met the most violent robin who bit with much vigor.
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| My I-am-just-going-to-accept-that-I-probably-deserve-to-be-bitten-by-all-these-birds face. |
The biting did not stop today, but we at least caught a nice variety. Still, my estimate of 11 species and 35 birds caught was over optimistic.
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| Ornithologists gamble over birds instead of cards. This board isn't completed, we caught 12 species and 20 birds. |
Chippewa is beautiful and abundant in turtles and geese.
A large part of the loop is swampy which made for great smelling wafts of muddy, decaying matter. We upset a wood duck mama.
Here are the catches and nature of the day:
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| Female rose-breasted grosbeak |
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| American yellow warbler |
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| Yellow-throated warbler |
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| Female red-winged blackbird |
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| Male rose-breasted grosbeak |
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| Swainson's thrush- it was unusual for it to be in the area because their breeding grounds are more northern, around Clare, Michigan. |
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| Dramatic shot of Swainson's- you can see some whiskers. |
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| Male hairy woodpecker |
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| Tufted titmouse, very bitey, I love their spunk and screeches. |
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| Female downy woodpecker- very similar looking to the hairy woodpecker but noticeably smaller. |
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| Male red-winged black bird |
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| Bee in a bee hive tree |
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| Common whitetail skimmer |
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| Old-field cinquefoil |
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| Horsetail? |
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| Anna Tiger Moth |
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| Orange hawkweed |
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| Skipper butterfly |
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| Canada anemone |
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| Deer tracks |
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| Wild columbine |
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