On June 7, I visited the Patuxent Research Refuge (North Tract) on the suggestion of Lithicum, via Dmail. While waiting for the refuge personnel to open the gate, I struck up a conversation with a gentlemen who also was waiting to enter the refuge…so happen it was Lithicum; what a small world (he just told about the refuge a few days before). He showed me his birding spot; a good one I might add.
While there, we met a young couple that works for the parks and planning commission who catches and band birds for research purposes. We watch them set up a net, put out a speaker box and played the sounds (bird calls) of the Prairie Warbler and the Black and White Warbler; it was amazing how fast these birds reacted to the birdcalls. I don’t know if it’s legal or not but if you want to attract birds get yourself a speaker and the specific bird calls and sit back. According the gentleman, they were defending their territory. For research purpose, he recorded each bird’s weight, length, took samples of the claws and banded them. He allowed Lithicum and myself to take pictures of each bird, which was a treat.. This is probably the closest I will ever get to these birds. Also note the size of these birds; imagine photographing these birds from far distances…cropping would be necessary - if you got the shot. I thought I’d share this with all of you. Lithicum please add to the thread as I probably left out some information.
The first photo is the gentleman removing the Prairie Warbler from the net followed by pictures of each bird…close up. Although these are close up shots, I still had to crop them.
