Thursday, May 19, 2011

Miscellaneous Cool Stuff


So this week so far has been decently busy. We had one rainy day where we were stuck inside, but the rest of the days were pretty busy with a lot of birds. We have been catching more and more young birds, which is very cool, but also ends up being a challenge. This weekend we will be going on camping trip to Pinnacles, where we HOPEFULLY see some California Condor! 


A baby Anna's Hummingbird being fed some sugar water before being released. This guy was super fluffy and adorable!
Beautiful view of clouds passing through the mountains at the one study area.
A fledgling Mourning Dove. This guy must have JUST left its nest. It was about half the weight of an adult!
A female California Quail. These are one of the funnier birds around here. They don't fly very much, instead they scurry around awkwardly. Their call sounds like they're screaming "Chicago!"
Today we caught our first Olive-Sided Flycatcher of the season, a migrant bird. It is a VERY snappy bird. While trying to extract it from the net it kept trying to take a chunk out of me.
Here at Palo we have a few resident study species that we may particular attention to. One of these species is the Wrentit, a very feisty little bird with a lot of personality! Besides banding these study species with a silver band, like we do with all the other birds, we also color band them. Each bird gets a specific color combination. That way when we're out in the field and see a bird we can determine its identity.








2 comments:

  1. 1. I like your nail polish.
    2. The colored bands don't affect them in the environment? I feel like it could have some negative consequences with respect to predators and stuff. Guess not though:P
    3. A hummingbird flew into my garage and is now stuck. Come back and save its life!!
    4. These pictures are awesome Mar!!
    5. I miss you, but I'm so happy you're getting that experience!

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  2. HEY FRANK!
    So let's see...
    1) THANKS! I wore it to Steph's wedding!
    2) I don't believe it has any negative effects on their survival. They're just so tiny that they don't really make a difference. But definitely a good question!
    3) What happened to the hummingbird?? Did it survive?!
    4) THANKS!
    5) I miss you too! So much! You make me so happy :( I hope I get to see you in August!

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