Banding at Rushton Farm

I stopped by this morning to see the Willistown Conservation Trust’s banding site at Rushton Farm in Newtown Square. The DVOC had pledged money towards the start up of this project, that is being run by club member Doris McGovern and assisted by Lisa Kiziuk and Alice Sevareid.

There was a steady stream of birds netted and it is always exciting seeing the birds up close. These included Purple Finches, Cardinals, Gray Catbird, Carolina Wren, Song, Swamp and White-throated Sparrow (above).

This female Hairy Woodpecker (above) was also banded. The top photo shows the plain white tail feathers with no dark bars on them, making it a Hairy. You will also notice that the black tail feathers and scapulars are jet black, whereas the wings are a lighter black, making this a bird born this summer – known as a hatch year bird (HYB).

The rusty tail on this Catharus thrush belongs to our wintering Hermit Thrush. Having the bird in hand allows us to see the pale wing stripe, something that is hard to see in flight. The stripe on the underwing is broader and more noticeable, and is something that we can look for when we out birding in the field. All Catharus thrushes show this pale understripe as well as Wood and Varied Thrushes.

For more information about banding at Rushton Farms click here