Images

The House Finch pictured was quite the surprise at the BBL's Fall Migration Station at Patuxent Research Refuge in 2023. Despite being common feeder birds in Maryland, this is only the second House Finch banded at the Migration Station since the 1990s! 

A biologist gently extends the wing of a Blue-headed Vireo to look for clues on how old the bird is. During fall migration, scientists can generally determine if a bird was hatched during the current year or if the bird is older. They do this by looking at the general wear of the feathers, and if the bird has retained any of their plumage as a nestling. 

Field Sparrows, like the one pictured, are one of 15 different sparrow species that have been banded at the BBL's Fall Migration Station. 

At the Bird Banding Lab's Fall Migration Station, Winter Wrens are one of the smallest species they band. They have the smallest tail measurement at the station, between 26-36 millimeters!  

The USGS Bird Banding Lab's new banding station set up in 2023, complete with a pavilion and shed. 

This Black-throated Green Warbler is one of 38 species of warbler banded at the EESC BBL’s Fall Migration Station.

This year the lab has recorded its second highest number of banded Cape-May Warblers, like the hatch-year male pictured here, since operations began at the Fall Migration Station in 1979. 

Brown Thrashers are one the larger species of passerine banded at the Fall Migration Station, and the team captures roughly a dozen individuals each year.

What a treat! The banding team catches a Warbling Vireo once every couple of years. This individual was banded on September 15^th. They get their name from the varied, burbling, fast-paced song that the males produce.

Scientists at the Fall Migration Station look for clues to identify whether an individual is a male or female to determine the demographics of a population. In Magnolia Warblers looking at the white spots in the tail is a good clue. The large square tail spots, like the one pictured, indicate this is a male Magnolia Warbler.

Despite being a hard bird to find in the field for many birders, the Fall Migration Station team successfully sees multiple Connecticut Warblers each year, as they utilize the shrubby habitat under the powerlines.

Bird Bander reviewing the "Identification Guide to North American Birds" by Peter Pyle, to see if this Wilson's Warbler's black crown gives any indication of its age. 

A comparison of two hatch year (born this year) Northern Parulas. The individual on the left is a male, while a female is on the right, note the color differences including the band of chestnut on the males chest. 

The BBL's Fall Migration Station's second banded Yellow Warbler in the last 10 years! 

The Yellow-throated Vireo is an uncommon visitor to the BBL's Fall Migration Station - this is the first one since 2016!

A banded Golden-winged warbler, that died as a result of a window collision.                    

A band of a Golden-winged warbler, that died as a result of a window collision.                  

See that one white feather? This white-throated sparrow is displaying leucism, in which there is partial loss of pigmentation. 

A Recaptured Northern Saw-whet Owl at the Willistown Conservation Trust, Banding station at Rushton Woods Preserve, Pennsylvania. This owl is being held safely in the "banders grip" by BBL Biologist, Stephanie Egger. This owl was originally banded in Thunder Bay Ontario.

The federal band numbers on a recaptured Northern Saw-whet Owl at the Willistown Conservation Trust, Banding station at Rushton Woods Preserve, Pennsylvania. This owl was originally banded in Thunder Bay Ontario.

A Recaptured Northern Saw-whet Owl at the Willistown Conservation Trust, Banding station at Rushton Woods Preserve, Pennsylvania. This owl was originally banded in Thunder Bay Ontario.