A little better......

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)