W.T.F.????

So the question is, where are the birds? Certainly not in the nets last weekend! A stunning total of nine birds were banded on Saturday, with a massive improvement on Sunday, when twelve bothered to show up. Spot the sarcasm here?

Georg left on his hiking expedition to Superior Provincial Park early on Sunday, leaving me to cope with the rush of migrants all by myself......Brett was over at Hawk Cliff on Saturday, banding Red-tailed Hawks, so it was a quiet weekend both bird and human wise. Even "The Ripper" was conspicuous by his absence.

Brett caught 35 birds at the farm location on Sunday, but he's been too busy chasing Le Conte's Sparrows in Guelph to get me the exact numbers, so I will only report my catch....and that won't take long!

Obviously the lack of migration allowed me to spend more time observing birds flying overhead, or feeding amongst the shrubberies. That was less than rewarding too, with a Double-crested Cormorant on the river, along with the customary collected of grotty looking eclipse Mallards, a few Ring-billed Gulls, and back to the vegetation again, the first Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets of the Autumn. The Osprey family have finally bogged off elsewhere, presumably southward, and will not return before late March next year.

Here is the weekend tally, in totally random and confusing order:-

Blue Jay 1

Myrtle Warbler (Spring plumage)

 Philadelphia Vireo 1 (pretty late!)                       
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 4
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Gray Catbird 1
Western Palm Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Myrtle Warbler 1 (a.k.a. Yellow-rumped Warbler)
Tennessee Warbler 1

Swainson's Thrush 2

Red-eyed Vireo 1

The Red-eyed Vireo was the 50th of the season, and the Philadelphia the 14th. Philadelphia Vireo is not a species that is caught much on the reserve, the previous high being 4, so it would seem that they had a good breeding year and/or I was there at the right time and/or the vegetation is becoming better suited to their feeding requirements as it regenerates, or none of the aforementioned, I was just lucky.........

Next weekend isn't looking too good from the weather standpoint, with showers and a maximum temperature of 10 degrees celsius, so I may just decide to stay at home and watch some Premier League football on the t.v. There again, as a sucker for punishment, I may go and open the nets for a short while and see what happens....



Cape May Warbler (why the heck not....)



Finally, my thanks to my good friend and former co-conspiritor at the now defunct Ausable Bird Observatory, Peter Fearon, for plugging this blog! In return, I thoroughly recommend you visit his blog, which is highly entertaining, and very informative, and contains many links to other blog sites all over the U.K., and further afield. Well worth the visit! You will find the link on this site....look for Scouseringer!

Not Much About.....except for "The Ripper."

The weekend of September 23rd/24th was the poorest so far this Autumn. Not only was Brett missing, presumed twitching, but so too were the birds. A not at all grand total of 35 birds were banded over two mornings, representing twelve species. Meagre reward for the effort, I'm sure you'll agree. Here are the totals:-

"Traill's" Flycatcher 2
Magnolia Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 2

Wilson's Warbler

Philadelphia Vireo 3                                         
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Common Yellowthroat 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Gray Catbird 1
American Robin 13
Nashville Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 1

On Saturday we were confronted by a gentleman holding a "Traill's" Flyctacher, that he claimed his dog had found at the foot of the net pole. The bird was still covered in some netting, which was carefully removed, the bird processed and released safely, apparently none the worse for wear. On inspecting the net, it was pretty clear that the bird had been torn out of the net, presumably by the aforementioned gentleman, who was then unable to safely remove the netting. At least he came looking for help! Although his story was not especially believable, we used the opportunity to explain what we were doing, and demonstrated the banding process for him. Hopefully we have educated another member of the public. After he left, Georg and I mulled over a suitable nickname, including The Flycatcher Ripper, The Robin Ripper, and The Blue Jay Ripper, but finally settled on plain old "The Ripper." Henceforth he will be known as The Ripper, and future sightings recorded and reported here!

Interestingly, the same Flycatcher was retrapped on Sunday, and had increased its weight from an impressive 16.0 gm, to a rotund 17.1 gm in just 24 hours. The second Flycatcher was even heavier, weighing in at 20 gm.....normal early Autumn weight is around 13 gm.

Next weekend sees the annual fund raising walk (Sunday) for "rare" Charitable Research Reserve, so I don't expect to catch very many birds, given the amount of people expected to be on the property. If anyone reading this is in a position to join in, contact the office to register!

A Weekend of Diversity

The weekend of 15th/16th of September brought with it a pleasing diversity of species, 28 to be exact. 174 birds were banded, bringing the Fall total to 1,167 individuals, of 66 species. The year total now stands at 72 species and 1,337 birds. This is very pleasing, considering our inland location, and the fact that the area is not a known migrant trap such as Long Point, Point Pelee or Prince Edward Point.

Additions to the Fall list were Gray-cheeked Thrush (1), Starling (1), Palm Warbler (3), and Orange-crowned Warbler (1). The Vireo numbers have reduced considerably, with just one Warbling and one Red-eyed being processed. Brett caught ten Nashville Warblers on Saturday, but with a clear evening and night, Sunday's catch, not to mention species diversity, was predictably much lower.

The first wave of White-throated Sparrows appeared on Sunday, and the American Robin roost is growing, clear evidence that Winter is not that far off now. If this thought depresses you, perhaps I can suggest a visit to YouTube, and a look at Mr. Methane in action on late night Norwegian television? Thank goodness for Georg's Blackberry and data plan, which helps things along in the quieter times......

Here, in totally random order, is the official weekend list:

Tennessee Warbler 1
American Redstart 2
Black-capped Chickadee 3

American Redstart (male)

Warbling Vireo 1

Swamp Sparrow 4

Purple Finch 2

Swainson's Thrush 3

Gray Catbird 8

European Starling 1

American Robin 13

Yellow-shafted Flicker 5

Nashville Warbler 10

Magnolia Warbler 1

Western Palm Warbler 3

House Wren 3

Blackpoll Warbler 1

Orange-crowned Warbler 1

Common Yellowthroat 6

American Goldfinch 79

White-throated Sparrow 7

Song Sparrow 12

Wilson's Warbler 3

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

Eastern Phoebe 1

Red-eyed Vireo 1

Gray-cheeked Thrush 1

Savannah Sparrow 1

Indigo Bunting 1



Gray-cheeked Thrush



Eastern Phoebe

This weekend may be a bit dicey, weatherwise, with a cold front and rain showers due on Saturday, and a blustery Nor' Wester on Sunday. Perhaps Mr. Methane will be the order of the day.......

Mr. Methane

                                                              

Nasty Weather, and Dickheads steal nets.....

Some periods of heavy rain and strong winds on Saturday meant we could not operate at all. By Sunday, the wind had died down and after an overcast start to the day, the sun came out and dried everything up. As we stumbled through the woods to get to the furthest net lanes, we were shocked to discover that two nets had been stolen. The net poles were laying on the ground, but even the guy pegs and chord were missing. A thorough search of the area was made, to ensure that they hadn't been tossed into the river, or left draped over the plants. Finding nothing, I can only assume that a Do-Gooder must have discovered the furled nets and decided to remove them once and for all, believing they may have been used for hunting purposes. If the person who did this is reading this post, then, sir or madam, you are a moron. I will take some of the blame too, for not having signs attached to the furled nets explaining why the equipment is there in the first place. That is being taken care of for the future, so perhaps it will make a difference.

                                                             Bay-breasted Warbler

                                                                                   Blackburnian Warbler

 Philadelphia Vireo

                                                               Net thief suspect???

Operating with just four nets, we still managed to band 31 birds of 16 species. Brett and Erika added a further 54 birds up at Springbank Farm, for a respectable 85 birds, and 20 species. New additions to the year list were Black-throated Green Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler. Here are the totals:

Nashville Warbler 3
Wilson's Warbler 7
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
American Goldfinch 40
Indigo Bunting 1
Field Sparrow 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 4
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Warbling Vireo 1
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 5
Song Sparrow 5
Swainson's Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Cardinal 1
American Robin 2

The total so far this Autumn stands at 881, with 61 species on the list.

The coming weekend's forecast is reasonable, so we are looking forward to another productive couple of sessions. Stay tuned......

Labour Day Weekend

This year, I decided to take the Friday before the Labour Day weekend as a holiday, allowing for four consecutive days of banding. As always, we are entirely dependent on weather conditions, and once again, the weather was good....too good, really. Nevertheless, over the four days, a total of 229 birds were added to the total. As might be expected at this time of year, diversity was high, with 41 different species finding their way into the nets!

New for the year were Bay-breasted Warbler (1), Blackpoll Warbler (2), Black-throated Blue Warbler (1),
Blue-headed Vireo (1), Blue Jay (1), Carolina Wren (1), Least Flycatcher (1), Philadelphia Vireo (5), Scarlet Tanager (1), Swainson's Thrush (1), Veery (1) and Vesper Sparrow (1).

                                                        Blue-headed Vireo (minus tail.....)


Helping make up the numbers were 79 American Goldfinches, 29 Gray Catbirds, 11 Red-eyed Vireos, and 8 Tennessee Warblers. In spite of the mainly clear conditions, there was a lot of migrant movement through the reserve, and the catch reflected this.

Also in evidence were the local Ospreys, as well as a Broad-winged Hawk, found perching on a branch at the edge of the forest. Pretty soon these raptors will be seen in their tens of thousands at places such as Hawk Cliff and Holiday Beach, as they follow the north shore of Lake Erie to the Detroit River, where they then spread out and head towards their wintering grounds. Two Caspian Terns were fishing in the Grand River, and the first two Green-winged Teal of the Autumn were resting on a gravel island in the middle of the river.

As usual, the above image is courtesy of Georg Hentsch and probably shouldn't be copied, reproduced or in any way buggered about with.....although he probably wouldn't mind anyway......

It aint half hot, mum....

to quote the British t.v. comedy series from the 1970's, when I was a lot younger, thinner, and had a lot more hair on my head, not to mention a lot less on my back.......in other words, both Saturday and Sunday were hot and sunny, with plenty of humidity and not very many birds.

In fact, Saturday was the better of the two, with Warbling Vireos and "Traill's" Flycatchers very much in evidence. A total of 67 birds were banded, of fifteen species, including six Warbling Vireos, twenty-one American Goldfinches and five "Traill's" Flycatchers. All of the Vireos and Flycatchers had plenty of fat deposited, a sign that with a clear night, they would likely continue their journies south.

Needless to say, the birds got their wish, and it was little surprise that Sunday was very quiet. A grand total of fifteen birds were caught at the river location, with Brett and Erika adding a further thirty-three at the farm site. All nets were furled by 9:45 a.m., when the lack of birds and high temperatures forced us to close up early.

Gratuitous picture of Blackburnian Warbler (basic plumage)!

Final weekend numbers were as follows, in the normal totally random order that I like best:

Gray Catbird 15
American Robin 3
Warbling Vireo 7

Song Sparrow 17                                             
"Traill's" Flycatcher 7                                        
American Redstart 3
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
American Goldfinch 41
Tennessee Warbler 2
House Wren 2
Barn Swallow 5
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Wilson's Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
                                                                                                          Tennessee Warbler
                                                                                    
As can be seen from these numbers, wood warblers are in short supply around the property, as the weather conditions are perfect for migration. Next weekend could be interesting, although possibly washed out if the remnants of Hurricane Isaac arrive here. We shall just have to wait and see.....

Week 2, August 18th and 19th, 2012

Week two of the Autumn 2012 banding season was conducted under largely warm and sunny conditions, which are pleasant for the banding team and the monitoring crew, but not really conducive to catching migrants. The calm, clear, starry nights permit migrants to fly right over our station and continue southwards. Ideal conditions are a cold front, northerly breeze, and pre-dawn showers. What we got was sunshine on the nets, making them rather too visible. Having said that, we still managed a total of 103 birds, of twenty-two species. Thanks to the efforts of Brett and Erika at the Springbank Farm location, another new bird was added to the ever expanding list, Northern Rough-winged Swallow. In fact, they caught a total of thirteen, along with a further nine Barn Swallows. We have now banded 337 birds of 41 species in two weekends. Not too shabby......

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Birds overhead included a good number of Swallow species, a few Chimney Swifts, and the family of Ospreys. Pretty soon they will be leaving our area and south into the southern United States. In the meantime, they will continue to provide entertainment for the visitors to the property, especially when they are observed carry quite large goldfish back to the nesting platform! Other birds in reasonable numbers inncluded Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos, as well as the omnipresent Grey Catbirds, which seem to have enjoyed another good breeding season.

Here are the totals:

American Robin 5
Grey Catbird 13
Song Sparrow 15
Northern Cardinal 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
"Traill's" Flycatcher 8
Downy Woodpecker 2
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Warbling Vireo 5
Nashville Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 2
House Wren 2
Red-eyed Vireo 8
Magnolia Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 13
Tennessee Warbler 2
Cedar Waxwing 1
Barn Swallow 9
American Goldfinch 6
Chipping Sparrow 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1

The forecast for next weekend isn't especially encouraging, with sunshine and high humidity, potentially in the low 40's celsius. I suspect that if that is the case, the post-banding cold beer will be especially welcome!

It's been a while.....

Yes indeed, in fact it's been a year. If truth be known, I ran out of steam posting each week. However, the time has come to catch up, and hopefully continue weekly throughout the Autumn season. Where should I begin?

How about closing out 2011? O.K.....a total of 2,187 birds were banded during the Autumn season, which is a new record. 77 species were recorded, five of which were new for the station. This total is due in large part to Brett, who was able to operate on many more days, owing to his employment status.....I sort of hope in a completely selfish way that this will continue this season too!!

The highlight bird, for me at any rate, was the Golden-winged Warbler caught in early September. Other interesting captures included six Bobolinks, five Northern Saw-whet Owls and an Eastern Screech Owl. The highest total of any individual species was an excellent 905 American Goldfinches. Most of these were banded by Brett at the Springbank Farm location.

Moving now to the Spring of 2012, owing to vacation time in Poland, and Brett starting a breeding bird atlas project in Manitoba, only three weekend sessions were completed, starting in mid May. 170 birds were banded, of 38 species. New to the list was a Veery....by no means a rare bird, but as this is the first one banded here, it was outside of its normal habitat.

The Autumn session officially started on Saturday, August 11th, although Brett managed to get in three sessions during the week, plus an additional one on Monday. Thanks to these additional efforts, and a great Saturday, we banded 234 birds, of 36 species. Three new species were added on Sunday morning, thanks to low flying hirundines! New for the station were Bank Swallow (a.k.a. Sand Martin), Barn Swallow, and a Cliff Swallow. Also present in good numbers were 21 Baltimore Orioles, 4 Orchard Orioles and 13 Warbling Vireos.

                                                      Golden-winged Warbler

Bobolink

That's pretty much a quick summary of events, and we are now up to date at last. It is my intention to post information weekly, as in past years, but as you know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. However, I'll do my best......next official session is Saturday August 18th....Brett may even be there now, as I type this!

We're back!!!!!

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!

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.

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.......

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.