The season advances inexorably to its conclusion (for us at any rate) at the end of October. August seems so long ago, as the temperatures fall, the leaves turn red and gold, and the water droplets freeze the nets shut!! As might be expected, the mix of species changes by the week, as the later migrants begin to appear in numbers.
This weekend saw our largest catch yet, although the impromptu session on Thursday certainly helped boost the numbers. 74 birds were captured on Thursday, with a further 181 on Saturday and Sunday, bringing the Autumn total to 923, of 60 species. New additions were an Eastern Wood Peewee and Blue-headed Vireo, as well as the first Orange-crowned Warbler of the season. Other arrivals included White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, and we also noted a significant increase in American Goldfinches. Fifteen Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers were a suprise at the Farm location.
It looks like things are slowing down at the river location, even the Ospreys have lost interest and moved to warmer climes, so this coming weekend will probably be our last there, as we move everything to the farm for the final three weekends of the 2009 Fall season.
Photos of Orange-crowned Warbler, Peewee and Blue-headed Vireo courtesy of my good friend, the ever dependable Georg Hentsch!
