It's just a bluebird

Well, if you see a Western Bluebird, and aren't truly moved by the beauty that this bird holds, you have made a major mistake in your life.

Until now, You had no idea what yellow was.

You can't possibly know the true color yellow until you see the American Goldfinch, the true yellow in nature.

You've Gotta Love This

You can't help but instantly fall in love with the brilliantly colored Scott's Oriole. A sometimes hard bird to find, the Scott's Oriole presented its self with the highest of pride.

The Song of the Barren Wasteland

The Cactus Wren lives in a barren wasteland with no personality or shine. So, the Cactus Wren, being who he is, has to give it personality and make it shine. Fortunately for us, that is exactly what he does.

A True Jewel

The Western Tanager truly is a gem. In the sunlight, it shines like no other. To see Western Tanagers in the desert was a new experience for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed because the tanagers "pop" in their relatively drab surroundings.

Blackbirds of Kern

The Kern River Preserve is home to four species of blackbird: Yellow-headed, Red-winged, Tricolored, and Brewer's. This photo includes Yellow-headed and Tricolored Blackbirds.

Search for LeConte's Thrasher

Searching for LeConte's Thrashers can be difficult. Especially getting a photo of them! I finally got this photo after 15 minutes of foloowing the bird around. On this field trip this was a life-bird for 5 members of the group!

Banding Results 4/25/10

Following are the results:

Site: BCEP
Date: April 25, 2010
Weather: 48-71*F, calm to breezy winds, clear skies
Net hours: 32
Banders: Garcia, R. King, C. Martin, G&A Sandoval (thanks!)
Birds captured: 10 individuals of 7 species
3 Lesser goldfinch (1 female recap from 4/2006! we originally aged her being in her third year- she is at least 6 years old!)
1 Orange-crowned warbler
1 Oak titmouse (Gerrardo brought his niece who had her first experience of seeing birds up-close and in the hand and was duly awed by their beauty-see pics of releasing titmouse).
2 Golden-crowned sparrow
1 Song sparrow
1 Yellow-breasted chat
1 Bewick's wren (recap from 4-2006, at least 5 years old! He has an amazing recapture history having been captured 12 times)

Results courtesy of Dawn Garcia!

Banding Results 4/23/10

Following are the banding results:
Site BCCER-EIF
Date: April 23, 2010
Weather: 45-70*F, clear, calm
Net hours: 40
Banders: Garcia, M. Ocken, S&R King (thanks great crew!)
Birds captured: 10 individuals of 8 species
1 Wilson's warbler
1 Nashville warbler (see pic)
1 MacGillivrays warbler (see pic)
1 Orange-crowned warbler
1 Gray flycatcher
2 Hermit thrush
2 Spotted towhee
1 CA. towhee

Results courtesy of Dawn Garcia!

Banding 4/18/10

Following are the results:

Site: BCCER-TOSL
Date: April 18, 2010- sunday
Weather: 50-73*F, calm to light breeze, clear skies
Net Hours: 39.5
Banders: Garcia, S&R King, G.Sandovol, 3 Hubers!!- thanks everyone! Steve took all of the great pics too.
Birds captured: 12 individuals of 8 species;
3 Orange-crowned warbler (1 recap 4/09- at least 3 years old)
2 Bushtit (1 recap F from 5/2009- see nits [maybe lice eggs?] in head feathers)
1 Hammond's flycatcher (see pic [HAFL]- if anyone wants more evidence let me know- we've got it [see pic empid_research).
2 Spotted Towhee
1 Gambell's white-crowned sparrow
1 Bewick's wren (1 recap from 4/2007 is 5 years old!!!- still an undetermined sex due to no breeding characters at this time)
1 White-breasted nuthatch (recap from 5/09- this male is at least 4 years old)
1 Lesser Goldfinch (recap from '08- a 4 year old goldie!)

Credit of Dawn Garcia

Banding 4/8/10

Following are the results.
Site: BCEP
Date: Thursday April 8, 2010
Weather: clear, calm to breezy, 51-62*F
Net Hours: 24.5
Banders: Garcia, S&R King, J Nelson, S&L Huber- thanks!
Birds captured: 20 individuals of 8 species
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
3 Hermit Thrush (1 recap from this season)
1 Spotted Towhee
2 Anna's hummer (both male)
1 Rufous hummer (male)
5 Bewick's wren (4 recaps, the oldest being at least 5 years old and recaptured many times over the years. This bird showed no breeding characters)
1 CA quail

Credit of Dawn Garcia

Spring has come

As a sign of spring, the Black headed Grosebeaks have been singing as well as the Black-throated-Gray Warblers. Also, the Rufous Hummingbirds have come. It is unique to catch hummingbirds, very unique to find two, but it is so odd that when you come up to a net, there are two, of two different species.

Bewick's Wren

Examining the wing is important for finding the age of many songbirds. In the Bewick's Wren you can see the difference between the age of the feathers in how worn they are. But, this is not a reliable aging component.

A beautiful sunset

Here are some snset photos I took at my house around 7 pm, Monday evening. I would not have noticed had it not been for my mom pointing out the sunset while I was on the computer.

Anna's Hummingbird

We caught three Anna's Hummingbirds in the nets. Normally you don't even catch hummingbirds because they don't usually perch in the types of habitats where our nets are. First we had a female caught in the nets. When we tried to get her out of the net, she flew out. Luckily though, she came back and brought two males back with her. They all happened to fly in to the net. The unfortunate thing is that we were not allowed to band them because their legs are two small for our bands.

Anna's Hummingbird

California Quail

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler