<\/a>An orange-crowned warbler at the Creamer’s Field Migration Station rests in the hand of a biologist at the who estimated the bird had a fat value of 5 on a scale of zero to 7. Photo courtesy of Alaska Songbird Institute.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Once the early-risers captured a bird, they placed it gently in a cotton bag to weigh it. And then they crimped a metal band on its ankle (though many recaptures had bands already). This allows biologists to know where birds go and to determine which species of birds might be abundant or rare.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Bird-handlers there — which this year included Snowden, intern Alex Pearce, volunteer bander Laurel Devaney, educator and outreach coordinator Georgia Houde, intern Sarah Kennedy, and seasonal bander Larissa Babicz — captured and released more than 2,000 birds this fall at the Creamer’s Field Migration Station. It was the second-highest number in the last 10 years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The tendency for those tiny birds to bulk up just before long migration flights — along with the popularity of the Fat Bear Week in which people vote on their favorite rotund Katmai grizzly bear — inspired Snowden to initiate a Fat Bird Week on the migration station’s social media accounts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
During the last few weeks, Snowden and his bird-capturing partners have featured slate-colored juncos (described as “chunkos”) who were among the heaviest they have ever captured at the station. Also featured were a few orange-crowned warblers “bulging with fat” and a fox sparrow so bulked up it was one of the heaviest ever recorded at the station. (With heavy being a relative term as it weighed about as much as three empty soda cans).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t