At Springbrook's birdbanding yesterday we did not only catch warblers, as exciting as they are. We also caught other fascinating birds and I was able to photograph some, like this female Pileated Woodpecker. In males, the red on the head goes all the way to the beak, along with other differences.
She had a large scaley broodpatch, so she has a nest somewhere in Springbrook.
This Red Eyed Vireo is certainly demonstrating its red eye in this photo, along with the hooked beak of all vireos. Glad they don't bite like chickadees.
These vireos will be nesting at Springbrook very soon.
We rarely capture Savannah Sparrows at Springbrook so this one was a treat to hold and see up close.
The yellow around and above the eye is very distinctive and identifies this sparrow.
Crested Flycatchers like this one have just arrived from their wintering grounds in the south and will be nesting soon at Springbrook.
The crest seems to be raised and lowered constantly depending on the bird's mood at the moment.
Here it is raised and down below it is lowered.
All flycatchers have a hooked beak, to better grasp their flying insect prey that they catch in mid-air.
Indigo Buntings have the most blue of all the birds I have ever seen. They seem to define "blue" with different shades and degrees of intensity, but they are beautiful birds.
This is a male, and the females are very brown and camouflaged. They will be setting up nest sites in Springbrook in the next few weeks.
Buntings are seed eaters, and have large, strong beaks that can bite hard, as many banders can verify.
The band can be seen on the right leg of this Indigo Bunting, as it is about to be released.
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