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.
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