Sunday, Jan 1992 Journal Washington Ranch adjacent to Rattlesnake Springs portion of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Eddy Co., New Mexico. Elevation 3650 ft. July 8 Lunch. Renee mostly read her book while I wandered around. Her interest (cat's) in birds evident only when working at the mist nets. A yellow-green Vireo was at Rattlesnake Springs. One (or two same bird?) was there last summer as well on the west end of the park property. This year, the yellow-green Vireo was at the east end of the grove at Rattlesnake Springs. The bird was singing non-stop and moving widely among these trees. Pat Snyder, from N. New Mexico was then looking for the bird, and apparently not having had a satisfactory look. I found it easy to see 5 fellows. I recorded several minutes of song. This recording I set up at my mist net on the Washington Ranch and flush the bird into the net almost immediately. I faced any take of goldfinches today, taking only adult males which were underrepresented in my earlier sampling. The proportion of black-backed birds seen here this year is (compared to my recollections) far smaller. Is this because site fidelity among goldfinches is low, or because it is low in this and some other populations, or because individual black-backed birds may revert to green-backed plumage in subsequent molts? Or some combination of these, perhaps. For Renee, the highlights were seeing, in the hand, a 7 Black-billed Cuckoo, a 8 Vermilion Flycatcher, a yellow-breasted Chat, a 9 Summer Tanager, a 10 Blue Grosbeak, and a 11 Painted Bunting, among many other netted birds. Weather July. I was quite pleasant. There was not a cloud in the sky, and light E. breeze blew until 10:15. After a short lull of still air, the wind changed to 5-10 mph out of the W, which continued until we left at 13:00. Temperature 70°-85° F.