Sunday, August 21, 2011

Migration season is upon us....

Redpoll

I have spent the last couple of days birding. I'm new to birding so luckily I met someone who is not and together we hiked the tundra and hot spots for the migrating birds. We did happen upon the American Pipit, Redpoll, Northern Pintail duck!




Fleabane



American Pipit


Unfortunately my pictures of the Northern Pintail didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped. Maybe next time!



2 comments:

JeremyHussell said...

The banded bird (last photo in this post) is a female Northern Wheatear that was banded by my father on August 5th, 2011, just three days before you posted the photo. The two red colour bands on her right leg let my father identify her from his records. The aluminum band on her left leg has a number on it which would identify the bird if it were recaptured at a bird observatory or found dead (there are instructions and a telephone number inscribed on the inside surface).

She was banded near Atungauyait and Qimminguat (street names taken from Google Maps). Unfortunately her nest there was dug out, possibly by a fox. She probably migrated across the Atlantic to spend the winter in western Africa, and may have returned to Baffin Island to try again in later years.

Shelley said...

Hi Jeremy, thanks so much for the information! I find it exciting these wee birds can sustain such a long migration. This photo was taken in front of my apartment so I thought she was maybe nesting nearby.

Shelley