A Bird in the Hand….

A bird in the hand is worth a hundred binocular sightings, in my book.  There is something magical about seeing a live bird up close, just inches away. Most are far smaller than imagined, and all are breathtakingly beautiful, pulsing with life.  Such was my experience this glorious morning, during the hours I spent watching about 30 birds being banding at Rushton Farms, Willistown, Chester County.

Warblers have begun to move through our area on their way to the breeding grounds.  More diversity will come, but we had three individual species in the nets this morning – Common Yellowthroat, Prairie Warbler and Ovenbird. A bird in the hand provides a unique and fascinating perspective on creatures that we are used to seeing in the field, from a distance. I was surprised to see the relatively weak orange-rufous crown stripe in this Ovenbird (above). I learned that there is tremendous variation in this particular characteristic, and that the lack of a strongly-colored, central crown stripe does not necessarily mean that it is a  female or younger bird.

If you look closely at the eye color of this White-eyed Vireo (above), you will notice that it is more gray than white, meaning that this young bird has yet to attain the white-eye of an adult. You may also be able to see the hooked bill tip characteristic of vireos, but barely visible from a distance.

Gray Catbirds (above), along with Northern Cardinals were the most numerous species banded at Rushton Farms today, as well as the noisiest and most ferocious.  While I enjoyed the close-up views, I’m glad those weren’t my fingers being jabbed!