The day started a little drizzly and pretty slow, but ended with a bunch of activity.  We got a great look at the difference between plumages  of male and female red-breasted nuthatches.  The female had a grayish colored crown which didn’t contrast very much  with the gray back color  The male had a black crown with very . . . → Read More: Winter Color Banding – Saunders Site – January 29, 2012

We had a late start today due to light rain.  We opened the nets about an hour late, and only opened 3 of our usual 4 nets.  One net is under a large tree and there was just too much dripping from the tree to be able to open that net.  The day was . . . → Read More: Saunders Site Banding – 12/11/2011

Written by Kira L. Wennstrom, edited by Mary Huff

It was a chilly, damp morning and bird activity was slow, but we still had some exciting moments.  We caught twelve new birds and recaptured seven, including:

Bewick's Wren recaptured at Shoreline CC on 11/26/2011

Oregon Junco–4 new House Finch–4 new Fox Sparrow–3 new . . . → Read More: Shoreline CC Banding Report 11/26/11

(By PSBO Board Member Suzanne Tomassi – Updated October 15, 2011)

This spring I was able to assist Bruce Beehler, Vice President of the Indonesia-Pacific Islands research program of Conservation International, on a climate change study that’s taking place in Papua New Guinea’s YUS Conservation Area.  The study is looking at a number of taxa, . . . → Read More: Papua New Guinea mist-netting

Morse Preserve: July 3rd, 2011

By Emma White

In attendance: Ben Vang-Johnson, Clarice Clark, Mark Colombino, Jerry Broadus, Don Norman, Emma White.

Rufous Hummingbird 1

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee 2

Pacific Wren 5

Swainson’s Thrush 4

Cedar Waxwing 2

Orange-Crowned Warbler 1

Common Yellowthroat 1

Spotted Towhee 3

Song Sparrow 1

Oregon Junco 3

Purple Finch . . . → Read More: July 3rd MAPS Banding at Morse

McChord Air Force Base: June 28th, 2011 By Emma White

In attendance: Daniel Froehlich, Don Norman (driver), Emma White.

Rufous Hummingbird 5 Willow Flycatcher 2 Bewick’s Wren 1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 Black-capped Chickadee 1 American Robin 1 Swainson’s Thrush 11 Orange-crowned Warbler 3 Yellow Warbler 6 Common Yellowthroat 3 MacGillivray’s Warbler 1 Song Sparrow . . . → Read More: June 28th MAPS Banding at McChord

Okay, how about some bird pictures?

This Ruby-crowned Kinglet is one of the few adult birds we're catching this year. It looks so ratty because it is in mid-molt.

Adult Yellow Warbler with a mosquito as a small snack after banding. The growing flight feathers shown in the picture represent rapid molt. . . . → Read More: More Photos!

As promised, here are some pictures we’ve taken! (And a bit more about the goings-on up here this year.)

One of the projects PSBO is working on is collecting data of bird mark and recapture rates (through banding) of sites at different elevations. Prior to the adult banding camp, and still currently, we are . . . → Read More: Banding Blitz and Training Camp Photos

A busy week of 12 adult banding trainees and four staff yielded a lot of fun, and many birds! We were so busy with banding that we just couldn’t get a chance to update the PSBO blog. Though the week started out a bit slow with bird activity, toward the end it picked up . . . → Read More: Adult Camp Over – Teen Camp Starting!