Observations by crabbycakes

At 8:41 a.m., I lifted a mid-sized rock in a grassy meadow about 0.2 by 0.4 m and found my first snake (ever). Hypsiglena torquata under rock. It had vertical pupils and brown blotches around neck. The patterning on the back matched down the lateral line at times but mismatched at times also. When I picked it up, it was coiled underneath the rock, but in my hand, splayed out at first. As a moments passed, it became increasingly more coiled. In the few minutes that I head it, it didn’t move all that much, most likely due to the cold temperature, but began to move more as it warmed up in my hand. Batrachoceps attenuatus (3) were found also found nearby under rocks in a wetter area beneath a tree.

7:30a.m. As soon as the Towhee was released, Beth began processing for the Wilson’s Warbler. He was relatively small with olive green on his wings, tail, and back and a bright yellow head and underside, all topped with black cap. Based on these plumage observations, we identified the bird as a male Wilson’s Warbler. By the time that Beth got to processing him, he had been bird bag for at least 20 minutes since being first bagged at the mist net site. I had carried him in the bag during this time and in the 20 minutes, his rate of fluttering around in the bag had decreased over time. When he was first bagged, he fluttered almost every six seconds. When the Towhee was being processed, he fluttered maybe once every ten seconds. When he was being measured and processed himself, he put up very little struggle and even allowed Tricia to hold him in the photographer’s pose. No wing chord and tail lengths were taken since we didn’t have the tools of the right scale to take accurate measurements for a bird of his small size. When it came time to releasing him, a flight path was cleared, a supine hand offered as a take-off point, and he was released right above the take-off point. He quickly flew off into a clump of bushy trees.

Measurements Data
Weight 7 g
Wing chord length --
Culmen length 7.8 mm
Tarsus Length 16.9 mm
Tail Length --
Feather wear None noted
Molt All feathers present
Body Condition No fat deposits