So let's dance...the last dance...Let's dance....the last dance...*

*You're singing that song now, aren't you?

As songbird nesting season comes to a close, so do the nets at Les' M.A.P.S. banding station.

It's hard to believe, but I shivered through most of the morning. The day started humid and warm, but a cold front quickly put an end to that.

Banding is fun to watch, but for the bander, it's time to work and concentrate.

I have to wonder if my constant babbling got on his nerves.

Some highlights from the day:

This hummingbird wasn't banded. Just ooh'ed and ahh'ed over and then released.


I stared and stared at this "screech owl" for 5 minutes before I realized it was a tree stump.

Well, you can't blame me! The goofy thing even has ear tufts!!


There's always more than birds in the forest...like this coral fungus:


A huge colony of this was overtaking a fallen tree. It was beautiful and delicate...

...like skeletal fingers clawing through the loam underfoot.
:)

Adult Blue Jay:

And for all their bravado at your feeders, they are remarkably docile in the hand.



I could look at the back of a Blue Jay all day.


Hatch year Eastern Towhee:

Kathi did a Bird ID quiz on her blog, and that's how I knew what it was. I felt very smart.
Look at the different parts...a "sparrowish" head and chest, with contrasting black and white wings.

Eastern Wood Peewee:

ID tip to tell Peewees from other flycatchers...Peewees have a "blank" face, i.e. no eye ring.

Red-eyed Vireo:

Feisty birds.


I could look at the back of a Red-eyed Vireo all day. Rich olive green, like moss in a primeval forest...with hints of a reddish wash. Just a hint.

So we say goodbye to the birds of Miami-Whitewater Forest until next Spring.


Laura? Laurrrrraaaaa???? Blueish-green nail polish! Are you FREAKIN'??
: )