As we enter our 27th year of banding here we don't often get new species. Last night as we were opening nets for Northern Saw-whet Owls and waiting to initiate the caller, we spotted something in one of the six nets. It sure looked like a saw-whet and when I reached into the bag I felt an incredibly soft ball of feathers. Much softer than the soft and cuddly saw-whets.
That feeling slowly morphed into a little whiskered treat that grunted and flared its tail often. This was the first Whip-poor-will we have ever netted and banded. That includes 27 years here and many years before that in the greater Chesapeake Bay region where they are much more common. This one was an adult male. I had NEVER thought I would be able to handle and band a Whip! The rest of the evening was equally terrific with four young saw-whets checking in for bracelets. Two males, one female and an unknown. These are the first saw-whets we have ever banded in September. Next, we paid for our jubilation as the first owl in the nets was the world's most feisty gray phase Eastern Screech Owl. This ball of fire reminded me several times of its talons and beak! Today I'm nursing my hands and Sue her ears! That round we also had our first saw-whet. We work and band under red light to save the owl's vison and our own. We have a short video of the Whip in hand as it grunts away. Each time it vocalizes,it flares its tail. We'll share that once I figure out how; it's too large to send as an enclosure to email. We also have a few photos of the whip and , of course, the saw-whets available and posted on our listserv. Be on the lookout/listenout. We did hear the grunting and some other call notes that we've never associated with Whips before but the bird did not sing the usual whip-poor-will song. John John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
