Shorter days and longer nights

It's hard to believe that the days are getting shorter already. This week we start our weekly banding schedule, as migration has begun, ready or not. Kelly visited today after banding at other sites farther south, and we'll band here tomorrow.

A couple of pretty odonates we saw today were this Widow Skimmer, which is occasionally around, and the Band-winged Dragonlet, also an occasional visitor in the summer months.

I couldn't resist a quick peek inside the Bell's Vireo nest when the adults weren't around. No photos were taken since I wanted to keep any disturbance to a minimum. From what I could tell, there are four hatchlings inside. It'll be a miracle if none of the nestlings fall out of the near-horizontal nest opening, especially if the branches flop around frenetically during a high wind.