• The same day, we banded our first immature Carolina Wren (top), Yellow Warbler (middle), and Louisiana Waterthrush (bottom) of the year.  Compared to the “local” Yellow Warbler with its stubby tail and mouse-gray juvenal plumage, the Louisiana Waterthrush likely hatched several weeks before and had nearly finished its first prebasic molt.  This species is one of the earliest breeding Neotropical migrants--many, if not most individuals begin heading south by the end of July. 
  
  
  
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  Note: the color leg bands on the immature LOWA pictured above show that it is part of a larger focal study of the species at Powdermill that has been ongoing since 1996.  This summer, Dr. Steve Latta from the National Aviary joined the LOWA study as a principal investigator, and two field assistants with whom Steve has worked before in the Dominican Republic, Danilo Mejila and Maria Paulino (photo below left), very ably monitored LOWA pairs nesting on seven streams on and near Powdermill.  They found and monitored more than 35 nests and banded nearly 100 adult and nestling birds, more than 20 of these in June. 
  
  Another summer avian research project at Powdermill was conducted by Michael Allen, an SY Master's student at East Stroudsburg University under the supervision of PARC Research Associate, Dr. Terry Master.  Mike worked on his second field season of data collection for his study of nest site selection and nesting success of Acadian Flycatchers in deciduous and hemlock forests.  In the photo below right, Mike is checking one of his nests with mirror attached to an extensible pole.  For more information about both the LOWA and ACFL studies, go to http://www.powdermill.org/research/student.htm
  

  
  

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  • This handsome ASY male Scarlet Tanager (top photo; note the all black wings compared with the SY male wing close-up in the bottom photo, which shows distinct prebasic and prealternate wing molt limits) was captured on 6/23 in a net with two juveniles, one of them young male (top and middle photos courtesy of Matt Shumar).
    
  
  
  
  

• In the final week of June another locally hatched songbird, a White-eyed Vireo, was trapped seemingly right out of the nest, in addition to our first HY Barn Swallow, American Redstart, Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds of the year.  On the first day of July, two new youngsters were banded--a House Wren and the "Local" Gray Catbird pictured below.
  
  
  
  

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• By mid- to late June, many adult songbirds at Powdermill, such as American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Ovenbird, and Scarlet Tanager, already have begun their definitive prebasic molt.  Many of these are SY birds that likely failed at breeding or else were unsuccessful at acquiring mates or territories.  Although it commonly is thought that there is little or no overlap between the energy-demanding nesting and molt periods for adults, at least some of the molting adult birds banded in June probably were still providing parental care to the fledglings that were caught alongside them in the net. 
  
  An SY female Yellow Warbler (photo below) was well along with her post-breeding molt, having dropped and begun replacing all twelve of her rectrices (tail feathers), her greater wing coverts, six primaries (and the corresponding priumary coverts), and three inner secondaries (second photo below).  Her molt progress, measured by assigning a value of 0-5 for each wing flight feather (0 = old; 1-4 = actively molting; 5 = freshly molted and fully grown), was 24 out of a possible 90 (i.e., completed molt, or the sum of molt scores = 5 for each of the nine primaries and secondaries), putting her in one of the most advanced molt stages of any bird caught during the period.  Yellow Warblers not only molt very early, they also migrate earlier than most Neotropical migrants, with most departing their northern breeding grounds before the end of July.
  
  
  

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• This SY male Black-and-white Warbler had not progressed as far (molt score = 9) when it was banded on 6/27, but nonetheless was early compared to the average onset of molt in this species at Powdermill.

Last Updated on 07/31/2007
By Robert S. Mulvihill and Molly E. McDermott