Day 8: You're a yellow-bellied sapsucker

Despite a bird drought at the forest loop, today was exciting. We had known that a yellow-bellied sapsucker was nesting at the ecological station for the first recorded time, but now we have video, pictures, a banded sapsucker and my bloody knuckles for proof.

Sapsucker at the nest

She put a peck on it!

I made Bishop guess what we caught based on my hands- his look of excitement was priceless. 

There was also many a fungus among us so I played take a picture and then jog and catch up with Krista throughout the day.

The ecological station is a great place. Today it was teeming with researchers old and young- studying trees, herpes and birds. Some of the knee high researches set up some "safety flags."

Some nature to hold you over until the next time we band- in a week

Day 7: I'm going to Gooseland, Gooseland, Midland Michigan. I'm going to Gooseland.

I doubt Paul Simon's Graceland was a swamp full of temperamental geese. Today we returned to Chippewa Nature Center for our banding and a goose almost charged me- I brandished a stick and Krista flapped her arms at it.

Today's birdy haul (most of it- you can safely assume that we catch a handful of catbirds every day):

Molting tufted titmouse

Still pretty

American red-start female

American red-start male

A pair of female hairy woodpeckers. Denny's bird interpretation: "I'm sorry for getting caught" -left "Let go of me!" -right 

I believe this is our first bluejay of the summer

The trails were far more wet than former weeks: at times water was knee deep. The forest regions had pretty orange fungi.

Blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are almost in season- the scrapes on my legs can attest.

Blueberries

Other creatures small and smaller:

Plume moth

Painted turtle

Baby toad

Eastern forest snail shell

Bagworm

Cross spider

Common green grasshopper

Green frog

Six-spotted fishing spider

Big ole bumblebee on campus