Unusual birds banded!

Here’s a young female Belted Kingfisher! In the last 14 years, we have banded only 11 of them, always in the fall.

On September 4, we caught a young Black-billed Cuckoo. It is only the fourth fall season when this species was caught! Previously, one bird was banding in 2002, five in 2003, and one in 2012. Black-billed Cuckoos are captured slightly more often in the spring: ten birds in five seasons.

A young male Scarlet Tanager was banded on September 8. This species is captured occasionally in the fall but always in small numbers: in the last 14 years, only 12 Scarlet Tanagers were banded in seven fall seasons.