Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Episode 1: Real TALONt


We experienced a remarkable difference in bird numbers and diversity relative to yesterday. Cool, sunny weather and the increase in bird numbers seemed to make the morning pass very quickly. We did pause for a special migrant that comes from as far as Canada to winter here. Instead of showing you pictures, we decided to share this fantastic bird with you in a whole new way. After you visit the concession stand, sit back, turn your phone off or to silent, quiet small children, and enjoy the show!

                                                             

A point of clarification: I mention projections on the wing of the Sharp-shinned Hawk in the video above. Raptors have several wing adaptions that vary among species that aid them in very particular ways. The short wing of the Sharp-shinned helps it to navigate through dense vegetation that longer-winged counterparts would have difficulty maneuvering through. The shape of the outer primary feathers in raptors also provides additional maneuverability through creation of a more controllable surface area. A final adaption that I mention as projections in the video above, are the additional fine hairlike structures on the flight feathers that serve to quiet flight, much like that of an owls wing. While similar in function, this adaptation is not as pronounced as those on an owls wing and come at a cost.  These structures also slow the bird down. Speed reduction is not desirable in a species such as a Sharp-shinned Hawk that is a pursuit hunter and needs to attain high speeds to catch prey.

- Claire

NEW BIRDS
1 House Wren
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Gray Catbird
41 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
5 Song Sparrow
2 Swamp Sparrow

RECAPTURES
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Carolina Wren
2 Gray Catbird
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  52
# of Recaptures:  10
# of Species:  10
Effort:  99.4 net-hours
Capture Rate:  62.4 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20