One of the recent challenges of mist netting has been that we are now catching young of the year and recognizing and aging the hatch years requires knowing more than just your basic identification. It is actually quite tricky, and involves looking at slightly different features on every species, but some determining characteristics remain the same, such as the presence of pin feathers or adult plumage. Here I am holding a robin nestling that is a day or two away from leaving the nest:
Note the spotted breast feathers, and absence of tail feathers. Here is what this bird will look like in just a week or two:
That's a hatch year robin that Eagle Eyes caught in one of our nets in Baltimore. Bet it doesn't look like a "real" robin to most of you. The spots definitely help them blend in during their first few weeks out of the nest.
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