Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - Chatfield Banding Station, 4/26/25

[meredith]

We got drizzled out yesterday; happy to be back in business again this morning!

It was a slow, early spring day, with only 11 birds banded, but it was a really interesting mix for early in the season.  

Our first bird was a Cooper''s Hawk (which may have had some impact on how few birds were caught during the morning).  I was surprised to see how few hawks we've caught over the past 18 years - only 7 total including this one.  

Our second bird of the day was a Hermit Thrush, which was a really nice surprise - over the years we have averaged about 15 per year, but only a total of 4 in the past 4 years and none last year.

Here's the list of the 11:

Cooper's Hawk 1

Warbling Vireo 1

Hermit Thrush 1

Orange-crowned Warbler 1

Brewer's Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 1

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

Red-winged Black-bird 2 (male and female, together in the net)

American Goldfinch 2 (both females, in adjacent nets, with a male singing in the tree above them)

We are banding Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) through May 31, weather permitting.  There are opportunities for the public to visit on weekends and occasional weekdays through the Denver Audubon website.  (Some days are already sold out, so sign up now if you are interested!)