Thrush, Thrush, Warblers

The first few weeks of mist-netting have been a bit slow, although today the capture rates really picked up.  I unfortunately forgot some equipment at the campsite, so I will be sharing fewer pictures than I had planned this week.  I'll be sure to get them up next time.  We ended up catching a thrush that we couldn't identify to species last week, and I'd gladly take any opinions as to what the experts out there think this bird might be.  We narrowed this down to either a Gray-cheeked Thrush or a Bicknell's Thrush.  It had characters that were indicative of both species, and without much experience with these species, we were leaning more toward the less rare, Gray-cheeked Thrush.

Mandible appears to be a little more than 50% yellow/colored, though not enough to be conclusive for either species.

Some reddish tinge, possibly indicative of Bicknell's Thrush

Purple-ish legs indicative of Bicknell's thrush, though the feet are of a similar color, and should be less purple.

This bird's measurements overlapped with both species, though it was at the very low end of wing-chord for a Gray-cheeked.  I'll let the experts decide.

In addition to this exciting bird, we have been catching some other thrushes and a few warbler species.

Yellow Warbler

 Male American Redstart

Female Black-and-white Warbler

Female Black-throated Blue Warbler for all my friends from NC

Northern Waterthrush

Veery

Palm Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

The sunsets and sunrises are still exceptionally beautiful, and the Milky Way galaxy is clearly visible on the cloudless nights.  Last evening we were closing our nets, and we got an amazing view of Nighthawks flying around the fields near the banding site.  Jess and I have been seeing Nighthawks in the pre-dawn light on our walk down to the banding site to open up nets in the morning.  It took me two mornings to realize that the pair we were seeing looked as though they were dancing around the fields together, chasing their insect prey.  Their bobbing, yet graceful flight seemed almost playful, and they frequently flew within a couple feet of us on the trail.  Their wing-spots light up beautifully in the fading light of dusk, and in the fresh light of dawn, and it has been a joy to watch these birds fly so closely.  In the mornings there are crows that roost near our net number 6, and you can hear how grumpily (and clumsily) our presence awakens them.  There is plenty of crashing in the conifers, and angry cawing most mornings as they are so rudely woken.  Every morning, we can hear the lobster boats and frequently hear the lobster boatmen talking.  Sometimes their chatting sounds so close that we are left wondering if someone is taking a walk through the refuge.  Many morning we are too late to check, but it looks as though Venus may be visible right now, and we are looking forward to checking it out through the spotting scope.