2011 Spring Banding Season begins.....with a whimper

The 2011 Spring banding season kicked off at 05:45 hrs April 30th, but owing to the very late arrival of Spring, there's not too much to report. I'll get to that in a (short?) while. Before that though, some other news from the long, dark days of Winter.

Firstly, I officially became an old bastard, or as my good Mancunian mate Dave Nolan put it, "I have arrived in the Departure Lounge." That's a rather sombre way of describing turning 50. In celebration of this soemwhat dubious milestone, Grace arranged a magnificent surprise, namely a short vacation in Varadero, Cuba! I never had an inkling about it until three days before departure. Many people were complicit in keeping the news from me until pretty much the last moment. That was only the beginning.....a few days after our return, I was stunned and delighted to find my mum, brother, and sister-in-law sitting quietly in the living room, upon my return from work. To cap it off, a surprise party was arranged at an old haunt, The Waltzing Weasel pub in London, Ontario, attended by many of my long time friends. The word "gobsmacked" doesn't begin to describe my surprise, especially as I hate surprises....this birthday was worth making the exception for, though!

As this is a blog about birding, and bird banding, I will touch on some of the Cuban highlights. Top of the list was a half day guided tour of the Zapata swamplands in the southern part of the island, in the company of the legendary "El Chino." Without doubt, this man is the finest birder I have ever met. If anyone happens to be going to Cuba, contact him, and you will be guaranteed a fascinating bird tour. We ended up seeing Bee Hummingbird, Cuban Pygmy Owl, Cuban Trogon, Cuban Vireo, Worm-eating Warbler to name just a few. Considering we were only in Cuba for six days, and had just the half day with El Chino, I ended up finding 78 species, of which 52 were "lifers." Not only that, but the weather was warm and sunny, and the beach and resort first class. What a great job Grace did, arranging this amazing holiday.

Closer to home, Brett qualified for his banding permit, and he and Georg located a field packed with Snow Buntings. Using ground traps, and under the leadership of Bill Read, just over 1,300 Snow buntings were banded, along with a few Horned Larks and a Lapland Longspur. There were several retrap birds from other Ontario locations, so it seems that although the flock usually numbered around 1,000 birds on any given day, we certainly didn't band all of them, and they are obviously highly mobile in search of food!

Having now filled you in on events over the last few months, time to return to "rare" research reserve and the Spring banding season. Unfortunately the weather has been cool for several weeks, and there is not much in the way of green leaf yet, in spite of the fact that we are now in May. Hardly any greenery at all on the shrubs and trees of the reserve mean little in the way of insect food for any migrants, and this was reflected in the weekend's catch. A paltry 27 birds were caught, along with some retraps, including a Yellow Warbler from last Spring. Saturday was a clear, sunny day, but started off with frost, which made unfurling the nets a little challenging, and the frost patterns were a great way to advertise to the birds, the presence of the nets! 17 birds were dfaft enough not to pay attention, and consequently sport shiny new bands. Sunday was overcast early, before the onset of rain by 11:00 a.m., which meant that Georg and I had to retire to the Resource House porch and drink beer! Here are the grim details:

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
House Wren 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Black-capped Chickadee 4
American Tree Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 4
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Northern Cardinal 3
American Robin 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Hermit Thrush 1

A new net location was tried, and actually produced half of the weekend total. Once the birds actually arrive here, we are very hopeful that the new location will be excellent.

Also, this Spring, Brett is operating at a location adjacent to Bannister Lake, which is about five miles south-west of the reserve. Although not operational on Saturday (as Brett was twitching Point Pelee!!!), 14 Myrtle Warblers were banded on Sunday morning before the rains arrived. I think the location...o.k., it's Georg's yard....will prove to be an interesting contrast to "rare."

Next weekend will, I hope, see a vast improvement in both volume and diversity. All that's required is the right sort of weather conditions, and of course, a crapload of birds!! Stay tuned for next week's thrilling installment!!!