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Posts Tagged "banding"

Bags of Birds

Posted on Jan 2, 2016

Bags of Birds

Migrant bird sightings and captures finally started to pick up for RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser and the crew in Costa Rica just after Christmas. We should be seeing some more beautiful photos with more exciting news coming from the tropical rainforest soon…and that is perfect timing as we are finally feeling some real winter here this January. Avian conservation is a year-round affair for us across our hemisphere.

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Green-breasted Mango

Posted on Dec 24, 2015

Green-breasted Mango

The Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevostii) is the most common resident hummingbird species Sean encounters at Finca Pura Vida in Costa Rica. It’s an especially interesting resident because it has a slower molt than most hummingbirds, leading to a mosaic of patterns of juvenile individuals. They often appear to be stuck in between certain plumage ages. This bird is the adult male with gorgeous rich purple and blue gorget on display. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica while on assignment for the...

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Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus)

Posted on Dec 22, 2015

Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus)

This was a fascinating sighting by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser in Costa Rica a few days ago, and it was the first time he had ever observed it. This raptor put two and two together thinking, “Hey, maybe I can get a free meal while these guys have birds flying out from their hands,” during their banding operation. The Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus) stuck around for most of the day watching them process birds and waiting to see if it could take advantage of the situation. Luckily the humans were a step or two ahead of it, but it was an interesting behavior to watch.

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Costa Rica 2015-16

Posted on Dec 12, 2015

Costa Rica 2015-16

The 2015-16 Costa Rica field season starts…now! RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser has headed out for his fifth year of research at the Nicoya Peninsula Avian Research Station with Tyler Christensen. They will once again be tracking down neotropical migrants, researching the biology of resident birds, and of course taking plenty of other tropical excursions. Sean will be sure to provide plenty of stories and photos in the coming weeks. He will again be posting things for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, Meet Your Neighbours, and most likely penning a few blogs again on...

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Dickcissel Banded

Posted on Nov 19, 2015

Dickcissel Banded

Last month I was happy to find a Dickcissel (Spiza americana) in the field as one of my autumn migration highlights, and even more thrilled to have it be so cooperative for photos. RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser actually netted a Dickcissel while banding! It turned into quite the celebrity at Audubon Greenwich with everyone stopping to take a gander at the migrating vagrant. It was only the fourth of fifth record for the Audubon Greenwich site. Sean sees them in Central America, though it was actually his first time catching one and he believes the first time seeing one in the U.S. Scott...

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