Cambridge Banding

We're back!!!!!

2011-08-16T05:22:00.001-07:00

With the Autumn banding season set to get underway on August 13th, Georg and I decided to set up the nets on my day off, which was Thursday. We duly met up at 06:00 on a bright, sunny morning, Georg equipped like the grim reaper, scythe in hand, ready to mow down any offending vegetation that had grown up in the net rides over the Summer. Needless to say, he was busy!!! To our great surprise, given the clear night, followed by bright sunshine, we had a reasonable catch of 37 birds. The undoubted highlight were the four hatch year Orchard Orioles, presumably local birds, that were caught. Also of interest were three Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, not a bird we catch very often. Three Yellow Warblers were a nice addition too. The nets were furled by 11:30 and we were greatly encouraged for the weekend prospects.

Both Saturday and Sunday were warm and humid days, with some sun, and there really weren't all that many birds around. Many have yet to begin their migration, but already the Yellow Warblers and Baltimore Orioles are trickling through the area. A total of 27 birds were caught on Saturday, and 28 on Sunday, for a weekend total of 54, and a species count of 19. We, or should I say The Grim Reaper, cut a new net ride down near the river, and we were rewarded with the capture of a second year female Shar-shinned Hawk. This time I was lucky enough to avoid being wounded!

Other highlights were the first Traill's Flycatchers of the season, a moulting adult Tennessee Warbler, and a very early Hermit Thrush....a bird we normally expect to see in October. It also looks like it's been a very good breeding season for Gray Catbirds, with a total of 22 captured in just three banding sessions. Out of this total, only two were adults.

We will be back on site early on Saturday, hopeful of an improved number of birds. Stay tuned for the next update!

Official: The fat lady has sung, 2011 Spring banding over!

2011-06-03T05:37:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Spring banding campaign finished on Sunday May 29th, after five, rather slow, weekends. Reviewing the final numbers, 204 birds were banded, of 41 species. This is over 100 down on our most productive year, 2009. This location is really not a noted Spring migrant hotspot, but nevertheless produces a steady trickle of migrants, and the very occasional flood when the weather conditions are right.

On Saturday the "rare" organization arranged a field trip for interested local residents, specifically to observe the banding process and see how the mist nets are operated. Thirty four new birds were banded, including the undoubted highlight of the Spring, an Olive-sided Flycatcher. This species is considered "at risk" in Canada, and is a very scarce migrant in this area, so it was a great surprise to find that little beuaty in the net! Being a thoroughly good bloke, I gave the banding tick to Brett, who was conducting the banding demonstration, and the look on his face when he pulled the bird from the bag was priceless.

As expected, Sunday was much quieter, with a further 20 birds banded. All equipment was removed for Summer storage, and will be reinstalled in August, ready for the Autumn season. Operations are set to begin on August 13th, by which time I fully expect the place to be alive with mosquitoes. This has been a very wet Spring and the woods are full of pools, ideal for breeding mossies! Perhaps I will have to break out the bee-keeper hat again this year! The up-side to that though is that it deters the casual vandals from wandering in to the bush, and ceratinly provides abundant insect food for the birds. I suppose too that the amount of blood I lose to the little buggers helps reduce my blood pressure. See....every cloud has a silver lining if you know where to look!

Here are the totals for the weekend, with absolutely no regard to any logical order:

American Redstart 6

Wilson's Warbler 2

Least Flycatcher 2

Common Yellowthroat 3

Yellow Warbler 6

American Goldfinch 5

Chestnut-sided Warbler 1

Warbling Vireo 1

Cedar Waxwing 5

Baltimore Oriole 3

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1

Northern Cardinal 1

Gray Catbird 4

"Traill's" Flycatcher 7

Brown-headed Cowbird 1

Red-eyed Vireo 1

Olive-sided Flycatcher 1

Tennessee Warbler 2

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

Red-winged Blackbird 1

Now it's time to input the records and review the retrap data. Given the numbers, that shouldn't be too onerous. After that, it's off to Parga, Greece for two weeks of sun, sand, sea, Greek salads (hopefully e-coli free) and of course, lots of Mythos.

My sincere thanks go to Georg Hentsch, his faithful hound Zak, Brett Fried, Erika Hentsch, Bill Wilson, the "rare" chritable reasearch reserve personnel, and all of the people who kindly volunteered their weekend mornings to monitor migrants on the various trails around the reserve.

This weeks images, copyright Georg Hentsch, are naturally of the Olive-sided Flycatcher.

2011-05-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Images courtesy of Georg Hentsch. Owing to technical difficulties (actually, my inability with technology)I was not able to add these to last week's post.

Top left is a Canada Warbler, just the second for the reserve since 2008.

To its right, a Tennessee Warbler, the first we have caught in the Spring.

To the left, a Black-billed Cuckoo. We were lucky to catch this, as in most cases the net mesh is too small to ensnare a bird this size.

The season has now ended, and I will post an update soon.

May 21st and 22nd. Better.......

2011-05-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well, at least it didn't rain this weekend! Not while we were banding, that is! Saturday started with a pleasant, sunny morning, and although this made the nets more visible, at least we stayed dry. On account of the clear night, I suspect most birds used the opportunity to move north as rapidly as possible, thereby overshooting the reserve, and then some! A meagre twenty-one birds were banded, although I had to release two unbanded because some idiot left the new band supply at home.....that idiot being your correspondent, of course. Did the same thing Sunday too, but remembered after getting to the nearby coffee shop, so no harm done!

New for the year was a Tennessee Warbler, the first banded in the Spring at this location, and a much more regular Autumn bird. It was a bit of a surprise really, considering the overall lack of warblers in the trapping area.

Sunday dawned overcast, with occasional light drizzle, and little breeze. In fact, exactly what the doctor ordered. Although only thirty five birds were banded, there were eighteen species represented, which included several new ones for the season. The highlight was a Black-billed Cuckoo, with a Canada Warbler being a close second, along with a pair of Orchard Orioles.

Overall, the weekend produced 56 birds of 24 species, by far our best weekend, both in diversity and volume. An American Redstart first banded in August of 2008, made a welcome appearance in the net by the river. I bet he's travelled a fair few miles since I last him! here's the tally:

American Goldfinch 7
American Redstart 1
American Robin 5
Baltimore Oriole 1
Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Canada Warbler 1
Cedar Waxwing 5
Common Grackle 3
Common Yellowthroat 2
Field Sparrow 1
Gray Catbird 3
Least Flycatcher 2
Magnolia Warbler 2
Mourning Warbler 1
Orchard Oriole 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Song Sparrow 2
Tennessee Warbler 1
"Traill's" Flycatcher 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 6

The next weekend will be the last of the Spring session, and with some resonable weather in the forecast, it could be a good one, even though it's rather late in the season. There will also be a visit from a group of interested local citizens, allowing the opportunity to demonstrate the good work being undertaken at the reserve.

See you next week.....

Almost a total washout!

2011-05-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the site at 5:35 a.m. Saturday to open up the nets and deploy the two that we have to remove each week, following last year's vandalism. It was a muggy morning with heavy cloud cover and occasional fine drizzle. It should have been ideal for trapping birds, as there was virtually no wind, but even though the newly emergent growth continues towards full "leaf out," the nights have been too cool to allow insects to hatch. This lack of a good food supply means very few birds are attracted to the reserve. It also hasn't helped that the winds have been mainly from the north for most of the month, so the birds are bottled up along the shores of Lake Erie, awaiting favourable conditions to continue the journey north.

A total of twenty birds were banded between 6 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., at which point the rains arrived, forcing us to close up operations. It took less than a minute to soak us completely, and twenty minutes to close all nets, after which Georg and I enjoyed a beer and caught up on the Premier League scores! This week's picture is of a Common Yellowthroat, courtesy of Georg Hentsch.....as was the beer.....

Here's the list!

American Redstart 3
Least Flycatcher 1
Nashville Warbler 1
American Goldfinch 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Yellow Warbler 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Grey Catbird 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3

There were two interesting retraps frm prior years. First was a Catbird, originally banded as an After Hatch Year bird (Euring code 4)on August 9th 2008, followed quickly by an American Goldfinch, first trapped on May 23rd, 2009 as a second year male (Euring code 5).

Sunday was a complete bust, with strong winds and frequent heavy showers, enabling your correspondent to remain in bed for once!The forecast looks quite reasonable for this (long) weekend (it's Victoria Day weekend, so can omly imagine the lineup to get into Pinery Provincial Park, scene of many happy banding adventures with "The Knob Jockeys."), so we are hoping for a good catch. Stay tuned......

7th/8th May Weekend and Snow Bunting update

2011-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

It was another quiet weekend at the reserve. The weather is still not warm enough to deposit migrants, with cool overnight temperatures retarding the emergence of leaves, not to mention insects.
Having said that, species diversity is increasing, as are numbers. A total of forty two birds were banded, representing twenty species. The first Palm Warbler of the year was a welcome addition to the list, as was the first Lincoln's Sparrow. No species were there in any abundance however, and this was also noted by the various trail monitors, who enjoyed the sunshine, but precious little bird life.

The final net round produced the bird of the day, a second year male Sharp-shinned Hawk. A right vicious little bastard he proved to be too, as my fingers still attest!
In the customary order of appearance, the following were banded:

Yellow Warbler 4
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Gray Catbird 3
American Robin 1
Common Grackle 5
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Field Sparrow 2
Blue Jay 2
White-throated Sparrow 4
House Wren 1
Western Palm Warbler 1
American Goldfinch 5
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2

A retrap Field Sparrow was of interest, having originally been banded as an after hatch year bird on August 23rd, 2008. The lapsed time between banding and recapture is 985 days. Also retrapped was a Yellow Warbler, originally caught 30th May 2009, 710 days earlier!

Brett was busy over at the Bannister Lake location, where he has banded a total of 208 birds since mid April. Highlights include 13 Myrtle Warblers, along with singles of Northern Waterthrush, Great-crested Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole and Warbling Vireo.

He also conducted a banding demonstration for Jason Bracey's class of Grade 12's, catching 4 Yellow Warblers and a very noisy Rose-breasted Grosbeak. By all accounts the students were thrilled with their first up-close experience of our neotropical migrants. Good job, Brett!

Finally, some interesting news was received on the Snow Bunting project front. One of Bill Read's buntings, banded during after Christmas, was photographed visitin a feeder in Nuuk, capital city of Greenland, on April 22nd! The finder did an excellent job of photograhing the bird, and from these images, was able to make out the band numbers. It will be interesting to see how many of this winter's birds return next winter.

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

2011-05-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2010 Summary

2010-12-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since the last update, so I thought I would close out 2010 by providing a brief summary of the missing weeks after the last news, way back in September. I became lazy with the updates, then busy with the task of inputting a whole year's records each night. Not much fun after a hard day's work.....perhaps next year, I will follow Grace's advice and complete the data entry after each banding session. It sounds like a good plan right now, but of course, that's in the future. We'll see if I am smart enough to follow that sound advice!

Late September saw the arrival of long time friend from Jersey (he may deny it!!!), Ian Buxton. Ian and his brother David still ring birds in Jersey, and are responsible for setting me on the path to banding when I was much slimmer, and much younger too! It was excellent to be able to spend a couple of mornings catching North Amercian birds with Ian, prior to delivering him to Long Point Bird Observatory, where he was very busy indeed! Hopefully it won't be too long before he, and perhaps David, pay us another visit.

On a negative note, two of the nets were destroyed by vandals. Presumably the person responsible thought they were foiling the attempts of hunters to catch deer. If they had bothered to spend time at the banding station, they would have known that White-tailed Deer are in no way impeded, and certainly not entagled, by mist nets. I know, because I've seen it with my own eyes! No matter....hopefully, whoever it was will suffer a horrible misfortune sooner rather than later.

The season ended on October 31st, with a final Autumn total of 1,482 to add to Spring's modest 101. Sixty seven species were banded, with 7 new species for the site. Highlights were 5 Northern Saw-Whet Owls, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 57 Tennessee Warblers, 102 Gray Catbirds and 7 Orange-crowned Warblers.

The final total for the station is 1,583, with 71 species banded. The Autumn of 2010 was very productive at the site, no doubt reflective of a good breeding season further north.

As always, I thank the staff at "rare" Charitable Research Reserve for their support during the year, and for the use of their property. Thanks too to local naturalist Bill Wilson and his incredible energy and enthusiasm not only for the banding project, but wildlife studies in general in the Waterloo region, and beyond. Further thanks to all of the trail monitors who spent hours in the field, monitoring migrants passing through the area. Finally, special thanks to my right hand man Georg Hentsch, and trainee banders Brett Fried and Erika Hentsch. In fact, congratulations to Brett on obtaining his banding permit. I'm sure he will be very busy in 2011....why, even today, he's catching Snow Buntings, while I'm stuck in the office, composing this!

Have a happy and prosperous 2011, and if you are short of things to do, a visit to my good friend Peter "Growler" Fearon's blog site is well worth the time.

September 18th/19th, 2010

2010-09-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Another quick update, time once again being at a premium!

Under partly cloudy skies and light northerly winds, Saturday produced 111 birds of 26 species, including the first Orange-crowned Warbler of the Autumn, along with the first White-crowned Sparrow. Other notable numbers were 12 Nashville Warblers, 5 Tennessee Warblers, 5 Red-eyed Vireos and 22 American Goldfinches. Passing overhead were six Broad-winged Hawks and a dozen or so Sharp-shinned Hawks. Half an hour before dawn, an Eastern Screech Owl was....well....screeching, I suppose.

Sunday was sunny and warmer, with a light westerly wind. A bit too sunny for the lower station, but of little impact up on the hill at the farm location, where the flocks of Goldfinches and Sparrows are beggining to assemble. In fact, only 23 birds were caught at the lower station, whereas 85 were banded at the farm, including Swamp Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, 5 Savannah Sparrows and 20 Song Sparrows. Also there is numbers were American Goldfinches, with 42 banded! On the river flats, it was very quiet, although there was a large roost of White-throated Sparrows in the shrubs on the river bank. 7 of these were trapped, as were a late Warbling Vireo, and the first movement of Common Yellowthroats. A young Bald Eagle spent a brief amount of time in a tree by the river, before heading upstream....perhaps the first of the winter residents returning?

So slow was it at the lower station, that Georg and I had time to watch some Father Ted excerpts on Georg's Blackberry.......in honour of that, I attempted to upload a picture of our favourite character, Father Jack Hackett. regrettably, something prevented that happening.....not sure why!

Final total for the weekend was 220 birds, of 31 species. We need one more Gray Catbird for an Autumn century, and 2 more Tennessee Warblers for an even 50!

Update as of 12th September, 2010

2010-09-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since the last report, so now it's time to bring things up to date, albeit just a brief summary.

Three weekends have passed us by, and during that time, much migration has taken place, with a high diversity of species being banded during the period. As of last weekend (11th/12th September), a total of 515 birds of 44 species have been banded. This is a great improvement over 2009, and it seems pretty clear that many species have enjoyed a far more productive breeding season in 2010.

Highlights include a total (so far) of 38 Tennessee Warblers (previous highest total 15), 21 Warbling Vireos (15) and 91 Gray Catbirds (70). Daily totals are generally higher too, and I am left wondering how we woukld have fared had we had daily coverage, rather than being restricted to weekends.

A couple of new birds have been added to the list, namely Ovenbird, a common Ontario Summer visitor, but because of the habitat in which the nets are placed, scarcer than rocking horse crap around the study area.....and last weekend, a cracking Clay-coloured Sparrow. The most unusual bird though, was trapped on Sunday, and perhaps presented the most unusual sight in over thirty years of banding. Although by no means uncommon to catch Cedar Waxwings, this particular individual had no beak, either as a result of some genetic defect, or possibly damage shortly after hatching. There's no real way for us to know, but in spite of the supposed handicap, the bird was healthy and of average weight for the species.

This weekend looks promising from a weather perspective, but as always, you never really know until the nets are opened and the day unfolds.

Two images this week, courtesy of Georg Hentsch. The Clay-coloured Sparrow, and of course, the beakless Cedar Waxwing. I will leave it to you to decide which is which......

21st/22nd August 2010

2010-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

The second weekend of the new season kicked off under cloudy skies, light winds, and little humidity. Some heavy showers passed through the area on Saturday afternoon, and well into the evening, but didn't disrupt the banding effort. The mosquitoes positively enjoyed the refreshing rain and were ready and waiting for us by Sunday morning.

Saturday proved to be the busiest day of the year so far, with a respectable total of seventy-two birds banded, of nineteen species. The first push of neotropical warblers are now in the area, although in small numbers so far. Thanks to sound luring, a good number of Baltimore Orioles responded, including a retrap AHY male, originally banded here as a HY on August 23rd 2008.

Sunday was not surprisingly, a little quieter, with the overnight rain halting migration. However, the Orioles, attracted by the tape, ensured a reasonable total for the session. In all, the weekend produced 114 individuals of twenty-two species, broken down as follows:

Tennessee Warbler 4
"Traill's" Flycatcher 4
American Redstart 5
Magnolia Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Black-capped Chickadee 11
Mourning Warbler 2
Warbling Vireo 7
American Goldfinch 1
Red-eyed Vireo 5
Song Sparrow 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Gray Catbird 16
Northern Cardinal 5
Baltimore Oriole 33
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3
American Robin 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Great-crested Flycatcher 1
Cedar Waxwing 1

This week's image is of a Chestnut-sided Warbler, in winter (basic) plumage.....very different than the Spring edition!

Autumn Banding Season begins.

2010-08-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

After a long, hot, humid Summer, the Autumn banding season got underway on Saturday August 14th. It's still quite sunny and very humid, so I ask myself, "self, is it really Autumn?" The birds say yes. In spite of the conditions, there was plenty of activity, and the weekend produced a total of 64 birds banded, representing 20 species. Caught but not banded was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The Ospreys appear to have raised one chick to fledging, in this, their second year at the nesting platform. Here's the list.

American Goldfinch 3
American Redstart 4
American Robin 4
Baltimore Oriole 1
Black-capped Chickadee 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
Gray Catbird 20
Great-crested Flycatcher 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Mourning Warbler 1
Norther Cardinal 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Song Sparrow 2
"Traill's" Flycatcher 3
Warbling Vireo 3
Willow Flycatcher 1
Yellow-shafted Flicker 2

The image is of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, as always, courtesy of Georg Hentsch. I will try to update this site weekly as the season progresses.

Spring 2010 Summary

2010-08-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Having finally received the banding log sheets from Brett, it's time to summarize the Spring effort......which at best was disappointing! There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the weather was not conducive to depositing migrants onto the property, it was far too warm and clear, and they just "kept on trucking." The other reason is that I was on holiday from mid May, and Brett was busy padding out his 2010 species list in an attempt to gain an insurmountable lead in our "Big Year" race. I'm lagging at least 100 species behind him, and a good fifty behind Georg and Erika.....but that's o.k. because there's plenty of time left to close the gap.....assuming I can be arsed to do so! Following is the banding totals list, which I'm sure you will agree is not especially impressive, and not in any particular order!

Black-capped Chickadee 4

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1

Magnolia Warbler 1

Wilson's Warbler 1

Blackburnian Warbler 1

Yellow Warbler 20

American Goldfinch 11

Warbling Vireo 1

American Redstart 3

Northern Waterthrush 1

Red-eyed Vireo 2

Song Sparrow 1

Cedar Waxwing 7

Orchard Oriole 2

Grey Catbird 4

Baltimore Oriole 1

Brown-headed Cowbird 5

Red-winged Blackbird 15

American Robin 6

Least Flycatcher 1

Myrtle Warbler 2

Swamp Sparrow 1

Hermit Thrush 1

White-throated Sparrow 3

American Tree Sparrow 2

House Wren 1

Northern Cardinal 2

The not so grand total is 101, of 28 species.

Finally, news of some recoveries. Firstly, an American Robin, banded here on October 5th 2008, was found dead in December 2008 in Trenton, Georgia, USA. This Spring, an American Redstart banded as a hatch year bird just east of Port Rowan, Ontario on August 31st 2009, was controlled here on May 23rd, 2010, presumably on its way back to its natal location. A Brown-headed Cowbird banded by my good friend Peter Fearon at a banding demonstration at McGreggor Point Park on June 3rd 2007, was found dead in Columbia City, Indiana, USA on April 21st 2008. Finally, a Pine Siskin we banded at Bannister lake Bird Observatory (a.k.a. Georg's backyard) on February 1st 2009, made its way to Mansfield, Ontario where it presumably lost interest in living and was found dead on May 13th.

May 1st, 2nd

2010-05-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

In spite of a dire weather forecast, Saturday proved to be ideal for banding, with overcast skies and light southerly winds.....at least until a thunderstorm struck mid-morning. There was lots of birdsong, and a number of new species were added to my year list. I'm still lagging behind Brett, who is at 180 species for 2010, but I have at least crossed the 100 mark at last. By Sunday, I'd reached a meagre 115. On the other hand, I have a job, so "twitching" for the list is not much of an option!

The first Yellow Warblers of the season made their appearance, with seven new ones banded, and three retraps from prior years, two from May 24th 2008, and one fom May 30th 2009. The weather again caused early closing on Sunday, with the arrival of rain showers around 9:30am, just as things looked like they could get interesting. All in all, a little disappointing numbers wise, but clearly, migration is now underway in this area, with both numbers and species diversity increasing. The final weekend total was 27 birds of 12 species:

American Goldfinch 2
American Robin 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Hermit Thrush 1
House Wren 1
Myrtle Warbler 2
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 3
Yellow Warbler 7

This week's picture is in honour of my good friend Peter Fearon. Between us, we came up with many corrupted bird names, just for the fun of it. Many, wellactually most, cannot be repeated here, but Peter, here's a "Helmet Thrush" just for old time's sake. Thanks once more to Georg Hentsch for photographs (and post banding beer!!).

There will be one more update after this weekend, before Grace and I disappear on our holidays, visting Poland, Spain and England.....volcano permitting!

2010 Spring banding season.

2010-04-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

The 2010 edition of Spring banding began on a cold and windy April 17th. Frankly, I should have stayed at home and watched the football matches on the Setanta sports channel. Sunday saw a slight improvement in the weather, but the migrants were not impressed and chose to stay well south of here! The final total for the weekend was four, comprising American Robin (2), American Goldfinch (1) and in keeping with the American theme, American Tree Sparrow (1).

The weekend of 24th/25th April saw an improvement on the Saturday, and a toal washout on Sunday, when banding was not possible, owing to high winds and lots and lots of rain. A total of tweleve birds were caught, as follows:

American Tree Sparrow 1
American Goldfinch 2
American Robin 1
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 2

The coming weekend would normally be expected to be the real start of migration, but the forecast is for windy conditions, with rain on Sunday. A bit of a bugger really, but we'll see what happens......

The picture is another one of last Autumn's Connecticut Warbler. Nothing of interest has been caught yet in 20110, so I'm resorting to last year's stock of pictures to entertain you!

Autumn 2009 Summary

2010-04-30T06:26:00.000-07:00

Having run out of steam by October of 2009, it seems appropriate to summarize our final results for the Autumn season.

The last day of banding was Sunday November 1st. All of the nets and poles were removed from the Springbank Farm location on a sunny, but frosty morning, and began the long winter hibernation at Bannister Lake Bird Observatory, a.k.a. Georg's place!

The final total was 1,239 of 70 species and sub-species. Number one on the list was the Song Sparrow, with 234 individuals banded, closely followed by American Goldfinch at 233. Other highlights (for me, which is what counts most, as I'm the one writing this!) were Myrtle Warbler 90, Savannah Sparrow 58, and Red-eyed Vireo 35. New for the location were American Pipit, Blue-headed Vireo, Chipping Sparrow, Connecticut Warbler,Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Wood Peewee, Grasshopper Sparrow, Great-crested Flycatcher, Pine Warbler and Vesper Sparrow.
There are reports, although I've yet to see the actual details, of recoveries of an American Robin in northern Georgia (that's the good ole U S of A, not the strife torn home of Stalin and former Soviet republic), and a Brown-headed Cowbird in Indiana. If I ever get the details from he who shall remain nameless, I'll post them here.
Once again, I'd like to thank Georg and Erika Hentsch, and Brett Fried for all of their time and effort banding birds. Thanks also to the "rare" organization for the use of their land and financial support with banding equipment needs, and to Bill Wilson and Josh Shea for organizing the daily trail monitoring and record keeping. Thanks too to all of the volunteers and monitors for your dedication and participation in the project.
Let's hope that 2010 is even more successful.....

Last weekend in September

2009-10-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

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!

Update as of September 20th

2009-09-23T05:14:00.000-07:00

A very quick update, covering the last two weekends. 12th/13th was very slow, with a total of 79 birds captured, of 20 species. New for the site was a hatch year Eastern Bluebird. Brett's tape luring of Savannah Sparrows proved quite successful, with nineteen banded.
Things improved at the farm location for the weekend of 19th/20th September, as the various sparrows and Goldfinches finally showed up in numbers. A total of 179 birds were banded, with a further, and very paltry 29 at the river site. Although only seperated by a few hundred metres, the difference in numbers at the two sites was quite remarkable.....but, given the clear weather conditions for several days and nights, the species to be expected along the river never bothered stopping. Sparrows and Goldfinches, on the other hand, find the organic farm and seed fields to be irresistible. The hedgerows are also attracting a few warblers, which is a bonus! Three new species were added to the station list, these being 11 Chipping Sparrows, a Grasshopper Sparrow, and a Pine Warbler. Using the tape lure, a further 23 Savannah Sparrows were banded, bringing the total for this species to 45....not bad considering only one was caught in the whole of 2008.
Pictures of Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler and Grasshopper Sparrow courtesy of Georg Hentsch.

Labour Day Weekend

2009-09-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

After a relaxing Saturday enjoying the sights of the Toronto Islands, including the air show, and of course the poofters, it was back to the business of banding migrants on Sunday and Monday. The weather was warm and sunny after the early morning fog, not exactly ideal conditions for dropping migrants on to the property, especially with the clear nights and full moon. Although quantity was lacking, it was made up for by quality, including a Connecticut Warbler, only the third record for the property! Interestingly, an early White-throated Sparrow put in an appearance, no doubt the first of many to come our way!
In alphabetical order, the totals were as follows:
American Goldfinch 5
American Redstart 3
American Robin 3
Black and White Warbler 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 4
Connecticut Warbler 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Gray Catbird 10
House Wren 4
Indigo Bunting 2
Magnolia Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 4
Ovenbird 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Red-eyed Vireo 14
Scarlet Tanager 1
Song Sparrow 10
Swainson's Thrush 2
Traill's Flycatcher 2
White-throated Sparrow 1
Warbling Vireo 3
Wilson's Warbler 2
Total 86, of 24 species.
Images of Connecticut Warbler and Ovenbird courtesy of Georg Hentsch.

Quiet times down by the river.......

2009-09-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

In spite of a change in the weather to cooler, unsettled conditions, the light northerly breezes failed to deposit any numbers of migrants in the "Rare" study area. Nevertheless, diversity has increased, as might be expected as the Autumn migration starts in earnest. This weekend saw an overall reduction in birds banded (81), but an increase in the number of species to twenty-six, including the first Magnolia and Black and White Warblers. We also added an Eastern Kingbird to the year list, which now stands at fifty-six. Last year saw sixty-three species banded, so we are expecting that total to be surpassed very soon!

Two Ospreys continue to use the nesting platform as a home base, but the second pair that nested further upstream, appear to have departed. There were several raptors to be seen each day, this weekend producing Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, an American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawks, and of course, the Ospreys.

Totals banded on August 29th and 30th are as follows:

American Goldfinch 3
American Redstart 2
American Robin 4
Black and White Warbler 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Canada Warbler 1
Cedar Waxwing 1
Common Grackle 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great-crested Flycatcher 1
Gray Catbird 6
House Wren 5
Indigo Bunting 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Magnolia Warbler 5
Red-eyed Vireo 11
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 10
"Traill's" Flycatcher 8
Warbling Vireo 5
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 3
Yellow-shafted Flicker 2

There are no pictures this week, as Georg, our trusty and rather hairy photographer was on a family excursion through the Rocky Mountains, where he no doubt saw lots of interesting birds, large mammals, and more than a few Red Necks.

Next weekend is the Labour Day weekend, so we'll be operating on Sunday and Monday.....Grace and I are off to Toronto Island on Saturday.....hopefully the weather will be good for the entire holiday weekend!

August 22nd, 23rd.

2009-08-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick report for the second weekend of the Autumn banding season. The weather was generally cloudy, with occasional showers, and light winds from the west. The second young Osprey left the nest early on Saturday morning, to great sighs of relief, no doubt, from his/her parents!!

102 birds were banded over the two days, as follows:

American Goldfinch 12

American Robin 2

American Redstart 3

Baltimore Oriole 1

Black-capped Chickadee 6

Cedar Waxwing 1

Common Yellowthroat 1

Gray Catbird 12

House Wren 6

Indigo Bunting 1

Least Flycatcher 1

Northern Cardinal 4

Red-eyed Vireo 5

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 7

Song Sparrow 32

"Traill's" Flycatcher 5

Warbling Vireo 1

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1

Yellow-shafted Flicker 1

The coming weekend is looking somewhat dodgy from the weather perspective, but as we all know, the forecast changes more than the weather itself!

This week's image is of a Yellow-shafted (or Northern) Flicker, once again courtesy of Georg Hentsch.

Summer arrives in time for Autumn Banding!

2009-08-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, we're back in action at last, after the Summer break. Not that the weather has been anything other than awful this year. Having said that, the heat and humidity normally to be expected at this time of year finally struck on the opening weekend.....forcing us to close early both days and retire to the porch for a well earned beer or two.

We are now able to operate two sites, thanks to the return of Brett from his duties down at Long Point Bird Observatory, and this was reflected in the weekend's catch. The early migrants are begining to trickle through the area, with two Yellow Warblers and four American Redstarts captured on Sunday. Two new species were added to the site list, when a Vesper Sparrow and three Great-crested Flycatchers were banded.

The Osprey pair are still feeding two well grown young, one of which was on the wing on Saturday, leaving the sibling flapping frantically on the nesting platform , but not yet quite ready to take the leap of faith! No doubt that will happen some time this week, while I'm stuck in the office. Oh well, at least we have air conditioning!

The total number of birds banded was 101, of 19 species, which is a very reasonable start, and comprises the following (in absolutely no logical order):

Brown Creeper 1

American Redstart 4

Field Sparrow 3

American Goldfinch 18

House Wren 2

Indigo Bunting 1

Vesper Sparrow 1

Warbling Vireo 1

Red-eyed Vireo 1

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1

Yellow Warbler 2

Black-capped Chickadee 4

Northern Cardinal 3

Grey Catbird 12

Great-crested Flycatcher 3

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1

Savannah Sparrow 2

Song Sparrow 39

Blue Jay 2

Images of Great-crested Flycatcher and Vesper Sparrow are again courtesy of Georg Hentsch and may not be reproduced without the express written consent of the photographer. Not sure anything will happen if you do, but don't say you weren't warned.......

The weather looks set to change by next weekend, with cooler temperatures and northerly winds expected. This should spur some migrants to head south. As ever, time will tell!

Bring on the Autumn Season!

2009-06-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

The curtain has now fallen on the "Rare" Spring banding season. Although we didn't quite achieve our goal of 350, I blame the weather, with two mornings completely lost, and one "early closing." Would those losses have made a difference? I like to think they would!

Once again, the weather was less than kind. I got totally soaked setting up the nets on Friday evening, to the point where I could have entered a wet tee-shirt contest, had one been held anywhere near by. Saturday started off quite cool, but then the sun came out and the later morning was pleasant, if slightly breezy. 35 birds were banded, leaving a target of just 10 for Sunday......which is just as well. Considering it was the last day of May, the weather was, simply put, miserable (I was going to say crap, but that might offend people....therefore I won't describe the weather as crap....even though it was). Fortunately, although we were freezing our bits off, the wind didn't pick up until after we had banded our fourteenth and final bird of the day, bring the season's grand total to 304, and 45 species. Two new birds were added, one brand new for the project, a Hairy Woodpecker, and a new bird for this Spring, a female Mourning Warbler.

Migration has tapered off in this part of the world, as the birds settle into another breeding season. Hopefully the weather will be kind, and there will be a bumper crop of young birds for the Autumn campaign!

Here is the weekend breakdown:

American Redstart 7

"Traill's" Flycatcher 5

Yellow Warbler 1

House Wren 1

American Goldfinch 4

Common Yellowthroat 5

Cedar Waxwing 12

Gray Catbird 3

Hairy Woodpecker 1

Song Sparrow 1

Mourning Warbler 1

Red-winged Blackbird 2

Warbling Vireo 1

Red-eyed Vireo 1

Orchard Oriole 1

Wilson's Warbler 1

Black-capped Chickadee 1

Swainson's Thrush 1

Total 49, of 18 species.

My thanks to the crew, Georg, Erika, Josh, Brett, Larry, Bill, Amy and all the others who have assisted over the last few weeks. Without you all, this project would not exist!! Special thanks too to "Rare" for their unstinting support, and the use of this magnificent location. Once again, thanks to Georg Hentsch for the pictures of the crew (Georg is the chap peering over the wall!), Mourning Warbler, and Swainson's Thrush.

23rd, 24th May.

2009-05-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, the gods smiled, the sun shone, and the birds arrived....better late than never! 92 birds were banded over the two days, with three new species added to the ever expanding list for the "Rare" property. These are Black-billed Cuckoo, Orchard Oriole and Indigo Bunting.

On the downside, we learned that mist nets are no impediment to deer, with perhaps the most consistent catching site out of operation on Sunday, thanks to said deer. I hope the animal meets a sticky end.....preferably sooner rather than later! I never liked "Bamby" as a child......now I know why.

For those of you who have commented about the colour of my nail polish in some of the images, it's lusterous pink, and you can get it at any pharmacy or Wal-Mart. Sorry about the chipped appearance, I'll try harder in future. The other person in the pictures is Erika, who coincidentally wears the same shade. She is the one holding the Black-billed Cuckoo, and looking all pleased with herself.......I hope that clears up the mystery, Tony!

Here is the list, again in random order:

Wilson's Warbler 4

Traill's Flycatcher 6

Common Yellowthroat 7

Yellow Warbler 10

American Goldfinch 11

House Wren 1

Warbling Vireo 3

Indigo Bunting 2

Baltimore Oriole 2

Gray Catbird 5

Northern Cardinal 1

Red-winged Blackbird 3

Song Sparrow 4

Orchard Oriole 4

Cedar Waxwing 8

Brown-headed Cowbird 2

Starling 2

American Robin 1

Black-billed Cuckoo 3

Magnolia Warbler 2

Common Grackle 4

Black-capped Chickadee 1

Red-eyed Vireo 1

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2

Swainson's Thrush 2

American redstart 1

Total 92, of 26 species.

Not a bad weekend's tally, considering the lateness of the season. The upcoming weekend is our last for the Spring, so we are hopeful of adding to our current total of 255 birds, comprising 43 species.

Thanks again to Georg Hentsch for the images of Warbling Vireo, Orchard Oriole, and the lovely Erika with Black-billed Cuckoo.

See you again next week!

Thanks, Vicky!

2009-05-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

I never thought Queen Victoria would be responsible for saving the weekend banding effort, but, in this case, that's exactly what she did! Without a holiday in her honour, I would have been sitting in my office, diligently working, and feeling right fed up with the weekend weather.....which was quite dreadful from a bander's perspective. Saturday was a rainswept, stormy day, and Sunday was windy as well as cold (max temp 7 degrees), although the sun shone all day long.

Which brings me to Monday, the Victoria Day holiday (cheers Vicky, wish you were here to have pint with the team!). A lovely sunny day, with just a gentle south westerly breeze, and best of all, quite a number of birds around the property. The local Yellow Warblers were engaged in frantic courtship display, a pair of Orchard Orioles were prospecting for suitable nest sites, and the first Least Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds made their welcome appearances. Also, finally, warblers were moving through the area, with lots of song greeting the rising sun. A total of 48 birds were banded during the session, of 16 species, as follows:

Magnolia Warbler 10

American Redstart 5

Wilson's Warbler 1

Yellow Warbler 4

Common Yellowthroat 2

Black & White Warbler 1

Western Palm Warbler 1

Blackpoll Warbler 2

Myrtle Warbler 1

American Goldfinch 4

Baltimore Oriole 5

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3

Gray Catbird 5

American Robin 1

Red-winged Blackbird 1

Northern Cardinal 2

Thanks once more to Georg Hentsch for the photographs, above, of a Blackpoll Warbler, and by way of contrast, a Black and White Warbler......and as I know you are all waiting to learn who received this week's "Doofus" award.....well, it was me, but I'm not telling you why!

The coming weekend looks like being a real corker from the weather standpoint, so we'll see if this translates into an increased catch, or if the birds, wisely, keep heading north while the going is good!

Rain stops play!

2009-05-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend, both the weather AND the birds conspired to make it an entirely forgettable effort. On Saturday we were forced to close early by a line of thunder storms crossing the region, although there weren't that many birds there anyway. After the storms passed through, it became very windy, then a cold front passed through overnight, with very strong north westerlies into Sunday morning. As it was far to windy to operate, the crew took down the nets early on Sunday morning, Erika fell in the swamp, thereby winning the day's "Doofus" award, and we were away just as it began to drizzle.

The Osprey pair is still in residence at the platform, and the female appears to be incubating, so there may yet be young Ospreys to band in July. Now, if Josh can procure the assistance of the local hydro company, we are in business!

Here is the list, such as it is, for Saturday morning:

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1

Yellow Warbler 4

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

American Goldfinch 5

Gray Catbird 2

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3

Red-winged Blackbird 4

Common Yellowthroat 1

Eastern White crowned Sparrow 1

White throated Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 1

Common Grackle 1

Total 25, of 12 species.

As always, we are looking forward to more success next weekend. According to the record books for the property, this is the weekend to expect the arrival of migrant warblers. Time will tell....

(picture of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Common Yellowthroat copyright of Georg Hentsch)

A little better......

2009-05-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

We have now moved into the merry month of May, and migration is gathering pace as the birds rush northwards, eager to claim their breeding territories. Although the numbers are low here, there was a definite improvement as we head towards the peak movement period. This weekend saw fifty new birds banded, of seventeen species, as well as two more retrap Yellow Warblers from last May. This is particulary interesting as only 6 were banded last May, so we now know that at least one third survived the trip to the wintering grounds in Central America, and the return journey. One of last year's four Brown-headed Cowbirds was retrapped too, which was a bit of a surprise.

Saturday was disrupted by the visit of the Federal Minister of the Environment, and his Environment Canada entourage. The visit was in connection with a funding announcement for the Land Steward program, with banding crew just performing our usual duties and staying well in the background. Nevertheless, yours truly managed to get his ugly mug on the local t.v. station, demonstrating the banding process and using a very compliant Red-winged Blackbird as his subject!
Sunday was very quiet in comparison, with fewer visitors, and fewer birds too. However, the weather was warm and sunny, and the post banding beer, courtesy of Georg Hentsch, chilled to perfection!

The following were banded this weekend:
American Robin 4
Amercican Goldfinch 4
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Cedar Waxwing 3
Field Sparrow 1
House Finch 1
House Wren 1
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-throated Sparrow 5
Western Palm Warbler 3
Yellow Warbler 3
Next weekend should see the peak of migration through this area, although the weather forecast is not looking too promising, with rain expected on Saturday, and windy conditions on Sunday. Who knows though? The forecast here actually changes more often in the course of a week than the weather itself.

(Image of Cedar Waxwing courtesy of Georg Hentsch)

Where are all the migrants?

2009-04-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Aparently, somewhere south, east, north and west of here. While Point Pelee and Long Point have seen the first big push of migrants, we have been less fortunate. The weather finally took a turn for the better on Friday, so there was a great deal of anticipation that Saturday would be the real start of the season for us. To an extent, I suppose it was. The day was warm and mainly sunny, but rather breezy from the south west. The numbers were disappointing, with a miserly total of 17 birds of eleven species caught on Saturday. Later in the day, a cold front passed through, with heavy rain and thunderstorms preventing any new birds moving in overnight......which accounts for Sunday's tally of eight. So, for those of you who are mathematically challenged, the weekend total was 25, of fourteen species. Numbers are poor, but diversity is increasing. Next weekend SHOULD be better, but as always, it all depends on weather systems.

On a slightly sadder note, we bade a temporary farewell to Brett, who is off to Long Point for the rest of the season. He did leave on a high note though, having won the prestigious "Doofus of the Day" award for Saturday, after failing to respond to his alarm clock(s). If you are reading this, Brett, good luck at LPBO and we look forward to welcoming you back in August!

Here is this weekend's breakdown (in no specific order):

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3

American Goldfinch 2

Slate coloured Junco 1

Yellow Warbler 1

Northern Cardinal 3

Brown-headed Cowbird 1

Song Sparrow 3

White throated Sparrow 3

Brown Thrasher 1

Red winged Blackbird 2

American Robin 1

Black-capped Chickadee 2

Field Sparrow 1

Myrtle Warbler 1

Spring Season kicks off in less than stellar style

2009-04-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Spring 2009 field season started with a whimper on Saturday, April 18th.....and petered out completely the following day. The weather was fine, but with the recent cool northerly airstream over the province, the migrant passerines have yet to show any real inclination to head north, into the nets. Unfortunately the winds returned on Sunday, the temperature dropped significantly, and we closed down around 9 a.m. This did allow me to go home and watch the footy. Seeing the Mancs lose is always a highlight for me.....but then, being a Forest fan, I really have no reason to gloat!

A huge total of thirteen birds were captured on Saturday, followed by a miserable tally of two on Sunday....which featured a particularly nasty Northern Cardinal. They certainly look handsome, but their general disposition towards innocent banders leaves a lot to be desired.

Although the overall numbers were unimpressive, there were a few retraps from last year, one being a Song Sparrow originally banded on May 24th, an American Robin from last September, and a second year male American Goldfinch, trapped in October, and now just changing into his bright breeding plumage.

Although there was not a grat deal of migration evident, we were entertained by the sight of four Ospreys disputing territory. It seems as though one pair has taken up residence on the nesting platform, and were being challenged by two interlopers. Eventually the invaders drifted off to the north, no doubt seeking a suitable territory not already occupied.

Here is the breakdown:

Fox Sparrow 2

Downy Woodpecker 1

White throated Sparrow 1

Northern Cardinal 1

Black-capped Chickadee 3

American Goldfinch 1

Song Sparrow 6

Next weekend looks to be more promising, at least according to the current long range forecast. we shall see!