
- The fifth annual BioForay took place from June 13-16 and was
attended by ~60 experts and avocational
naturalists in a remote location on Powdermill property (see map
below). In addition to birds, researchers collected data on
everything from plants and fungi to mammals, moths, snails and more!
- In
addition to the point count bird surveys we ordinarily conduct on the
plots, we couldn't
resist doing some demonstrational bird banding close to this year's BioForay
plot. A cut-over area on small private inholding belonging to the
Manor Hunting Club provided great bird habitat along with some mowed
paths that served
as ready-made net lanes.
- For a few hours on 6/15
and 6/16 we
set up five nets and captured 29 birds of nine species. We
also had six recaptures of birds originally banded at the main
Powdermill banding station (about 1.5 km to the NW),
including this gravid female Brown-headed Cowbird.

- The site proved to
especially productive habitat for a couple of species uncommonly banded
at our main banding station, including Kentucky Warbler (five banded)
and Cerulean Warbler (many heard and one ASY male banded;
our thanks to BioForay participant, Jeri Lowe, for taking the in-hand
CERW photo below). The KEWAs were attracted to the heavy
undergrowth that is characteristic of a site several years
post-logging; CERWs were attracted to the canopy gaps between the many
large oaks and other trees left standing as "seed" trees in the
cut-over area. The close proximity of this small cut-over area to
intact forest on adjacent Powdermill property no doubt added to its
attractiveness for both of these interior forest-nesting species.
- Several
other wood warblers (the majority of captured birds)
were common in this habitat, including American Redstart (7),
Chestnut-sided Warbler
(2; an ASY male pictured below), Hooded Warbler (3), and Common
Yellowthroat (2).


- On
the first day of the BioForay, a striking (in size and appearance, not
behavior!) black-phase timber rattlesnake was
discovered near some of the banding net lanes.

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