I found three nestlings, eyes open, pin feathers on the wing but no tail feathers or down on the breast. I estimated they were 5-7 days old. That means I'll be climbing this tree again next week to check them before they fledge, I can't wait! Actually blue spruce are amongst the easiest trees to climb. There will be much harder ones later on this summer and perhaps after. Just listening to my advisor talk about his tree climbing experiences doing his PhD in Hawaii is a thrill...
The people in this Takoma Park neighborhood were really nice. They were concerned about the impact West Nile virus was having on the birds; many people commented about that there were far fewer crows than before WNV hit. One guy whose yard contained a nest thoughtfully listened to our explanation of the research and then commented sagely, "Life helping life."
Mist netting this morning also went much more smoothly than yesterday, which was my first day setting up on my own. I was able to put up my nets without too much frustration, though one of them was still so twisted I couldn't open it. Sledge hammering the poles into the ground is getting substantially easier too.
Today we got our first woodpeckers:
That is a female downy woodpecker. She weighs about 26 grams (pretty little).And here's a male of the same species:
That's me holding the male downy in one hand, and taking the photo with my other hand. You quickly become adept at doing all kinds of things with a bird in the hand. Here's my advisor recording data with the female in the other hand:
It's been a long, but rewarding day. 14 hours in the field (alarm went off at 3:45 am), followed by a long run and finally dinner. Time for some chamomile tea and bed!
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