Haldimand Bird Observatory

New Blog Address

2007-04-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Please go to Ruthven Park Nature Blog, this website's replacement, by clicking this link.

The URL is http://ruthvenpark.ca/natureblog/

Thanks for your interest!

Comments on the beehive at Ruthven

2007-01-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Regarding the beehive mentioned in a previous post:

Three local beekeepers have looked at the honeycomb and agree that there is almost certainly a thriving colony inhabiting similar honeycomb inside the tree. The comb you see is probably overflow and was built because the bees had run out of room in the tree. No bee colony could survive a Canadian winter unprotected in external comb like this.

It is quite possible that predators such as racoons might find the comb and destroy it to get at any honey, however this would only be likely during the winter while the bees are semi-dormant inside the tree. Once the weather warms up the bees will keep predators at bay. Only bears seem to be able to successfully raid an active bee hive.

We expect that the colony will re-emerge next spring and probably continue to use this external comb as well as the main part of the hive inside the tree..

Bee colonies throughout the world inhabit cavities. The classic man-made beehive is an adaptation of a natural cavity and is designed to harness the bees natural tendency to keep expanding the size of the colony and storing honey. The beekeeper harvests excess honey leaving the bees enough food to survive the winter.

-Peter Thoem

John Miles

2006-12-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

We are sad to annouce that on December 13th, 2006, John Miles, head bander at HBO's Selkirk banding station, passed away at the West Haldimand Hospital in Hagerville, ON.

The arrangements for John are in the Friday December 15th Hamilton Spectator. Visitation will be at Cooper Funderal Home Sunday 2-4, 7-9, Cooper Funeral home 19 Talbot St W, Jarvis. Funeral service, Monday 10 am Cooper funeral home.

There has been a series of emails circulating, written by some of the many people who had the opporunity to enjoy John's company, learn from him, and experience his passion for birding (and banding). I have posted these emails below, and encourage you to read them, as they provide some understanding of the great work that John did as a bird bander, and the great human being that he was.

I will continue to post any emails that I get about John, so check back for updates to this list. If you would like to say something about John through the blog, email it to jeffreymacleod@gmail.com . Also, we would love to see some pictures of John at work banding birds. If anyone has them, please send them to the email address above and I'll post them on this blog.

Beginning with the announcement from Nancy Furber:

Hello, our computer has been down for the past two days and I was unable to contact anyone. Now, it is with great sadness that I need to share that John Miles passed away yesterday evening - December 13, 2006. His transfer to Norfolk General Hospital, Simcoe was delayed (possibly to a bed shortage) so he was still at the West Haldimand Hospital, Hagersville. We wish to extend condolences to his family and friends with the loss of a wonderful gentleman. His presence will be greatly missed. Nancy Furber

Yes, it is a very sad thing.The very first "organized" birding hike I ever went on (as an early teenager) was lead by John - I learned how to discriminate among the "confusing fall warblers" under his tutelage.He had an amazing memory for birds, birding, birders and banding. He could recount the date and year of rarity sightings; he could remember how many birds of which species in which season he had banded; his knowledge of bird lore was encyclopedic. And he was very willing to share it with any one who had an interest.He had a tremendous drive and energy for banding. He would, in some seasons, start Spring banding in late February and end in mid-June only to start up the Fall season in mid-July and run through to mid-November in order that any migrant that could be banded was banded. This regimen entailed so many very early mornings, a long walk into his banding site (at Selkirk) and out again, and then afternoons and evenings of entering the data. Day after day, year after year. It's hard to appreciate this level of commitment without having done it.He was a major collaborator in the formation and development of Haldimand Bird Observatory (HBO). The organization benefited from his wide knowledge of other organziations with which he'd been involved, and from his fund-raising efforts - he was a major money-raiser through the Baillie Birdathon initiative.I will always picture John taking a break at the picnic table having processed a batch of birds and looking forward with that anticipatory eagerness in his eyes to the nets filling again. He could never get enough. Rick Ludkin

John was a good friend, a willing ear, and never hesitated to offer additional information. At a meeting last night, I was asked a historical Long Point question and my first thought was "I'll email John and find out". Sadly, those days are gone and I will miss him. Cindy Cartwright

This is such sad news - I visited John's banding site on several occasionswhen I was in Toronto for work. He was such a nice old boy and he gave me myfirst opportunity to band a Northern Saw-Whet Owl - I arrived at the stationa little before dawn and went in to John's trailer to find a bird bag on apeg - he handed it to me and said 'present for you' - I heard it snapping inthe bag and knew what it was - he was just a really nice guy and I'll neverforget him banding with a bird in one hand and a cigarette in the other!! -he was just such a character. This is as sad news for Canadian banders aswhen Chris Meade died for English banders - they just don't make them like those guys any more!!Another reminder to make the most of every day and to really enjoy ever bird- Happy winter banding! Derek J. Matthews - Vancouver, B.C. Canada

John Miles was a caring, and sharing individual, and just a really nice guy. I'm sorry to see him go. Allen Chartier

I feel so bad about John's passing. He was unique in his passion for banding. I think if the fall season had been longer, he still might be with us! He and I used to compare notes between Braddock Bay and Selkirk and he was always quick to point out any misconceptions I had about Canadian geography or Canadian banders! I will really miss him. Betsy Brooks.

We regret to inform you that we lost a friend yesterday and our profession lost a dedicated Field Ornithologist and mentor to many. John Miles contracted pneumonia after enjoying his most successful fall season. John was an old fashioned field biologist who did evrything the proper way and was on site in order to be open a half hour before sunrise every possible day during the migration - despite having a 45 minute commute to get there. His professional ethics and sharing of knowledge will stand as a shining example for us all. John had been in a local Ontario hospital since shortly after the fall season and was not doing well; he was anticipating transfer to a larger facility. Today we received the following:

Hello, our computer has been down for the past two days and I was unable to contact anyone. Now, it is with great sadness that I need to share that John Miles passed away yesterday evening - December 13, 2006. His transfer to Norfolk General Hospital, Simcoe was delayed (possibly to a bed shortage) so he was still at the West Haldimand Hospital, Hagersville.
We wish to extend condolences to his family and friends with the loss of a wonderful gentleman. His presence will be greatly missed. Nancy Furber

John will be greatly missed as both friend and colleague! He was so proud of this season's accomplishments and we are happy that he went on such a happy, personal high.

John & Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory

I was shocked when I found out that John Miles had passed away. I learned of it from the latest BSC Newsletter that I looked at this sunday morning.. I was thinking about him the other day . John and I go back a long way to the Hamilton Junior Naturalist's Club in the late '50s. I did some banding under John's leadership in the 60's at Long Point. We will miss his birding and banding expertise. Ted Dinniwell

Honeybee hive at Ruthven

2006-11-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of a large honeybee hive that was recently found on Ruthven's property. Quite phenomenal.

Selkirk Northern Saw-whet Owl Recovery

2006-11-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

A Northern Saw-whet Owl 0924-03603 banded at Selkirk as a Hatch-year Female on October 26/2004 was recovered near Sudbury, Massachesetts (422-0711) October 30, 2006.

John

Dry Lake fall banding results

2006-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Dry Lake operates as a "backyard " operation, after work and on weekends/holidays when time is available. The location is extremely good for migrants, nesting and wintering birds. The station operator is a sub under John Miles and the results are included in the Haldimand Bird Observatory totals.

Several good birds were seen or banded there this fall. A Western Kingbird was present for a couple of days around Sept, 14th and see by many twitchers. Noteworthy bandings included 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher, 3 Brewster's Warblers, 3 Nortern Saw-whet Owls, 6 Rusty Blackbirds.
The following results are prelimiary subject to correction once the band manager inputting is checked. But 72 species plus 1 form of 940 birds is nothing to sneeze at.

Top 10 banded

Gray Catbird 125
White-throated Sparrow 91
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 78
American Goldfinch 64
American Robin 49
Baltimore Oriole 29
Song Sparow 27
Chipping Sparrow 25
Traill's Flycatcher 24
Yellow Warbler 24

John Miles
10095

Anti-vehicle Ditches

2006-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

In an effort to reduce ATV incursions into Ruthven Park property the Lower Grand River Land Trust has built a series of anti-vehicle ditches. Stewardship Committee member Carol Desoer demonstrates their effectiveness.

Selkirk's final banding days in Fall 2006

2006-11-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

Selkirk's tenative fall banding season totals

The Selkirk Provincial Park's field station of the Haldiamnd Bird Observatory operated from July 6 through to November 12 for a total of 102 days, 78% coverage was provided. 3883 birds of 85 species were banded. The individual total is the station's best banding season. The 85 species is the station's 2nd lowest total since fall coverage started in 1998.

The following is a preliminary listing of the birds banded pending checking ot the Band Manager inputting. Some minor switches have been know to occur.

From the AOU number order:

Morning Dove 45 (best fall)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 16
N. Saw-whet Owl 4
Black-billed Cuckoo 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 31 (best banding season)
Yellow-shafted Flicker 3
Great-crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 12 (best banding season)
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Eastern Wood Pewee 6
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 9
Traill's Flycatcher 15
Least Flycatcher 12
Blue Jay 38
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Red-winged Blackbird 16
Baltimore Oriole 33
Common Grackle 5
American Goldfinch 139 (best fall)
E. White-crowned Sparrow 7
White-throated Sparrow 143
American Tree Sparrow 8
Chipping Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 1
Slate-colored Junco 371
Song Sparrow 123
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 13
Fox Sparrow 22
Eastern Towhee 2
Northern Cardinal 29
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 20
Indigo Bunting 11
Scarlet Tanager 1
Tree Swallow 5
N. Rough-winged Swallow 2
Cedar Waxwing 62 (new banding season high)
Red-eyed Vireo 52 (new banding sesson high)
Philadelphia Vireo 4 (new banding season high)
Warbling Vireo 7 ( ties previous best banding season high)
Blue-headed Vireo 20 (ties previous best banding season high)
Black-and-white Warbler 22
Lawrence's Warbler 1 (ties previous best banding season high)
Nashville Warbler 76
Orange-crowned Warbler 6
Tenneessee Warbler 13
Northern Parula 1
Cape May Warbler 4
Yellow Warbler 90
Black-throated Blue Warbler 45
Myrtle Warbler 111
Magnolia Warbler 168
Chestnut-sided Warbler 12
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 14
Blackburnian Warbler 5
Black-throated Green Warbler 9
Pine Warbler 2
W. Palm Warbler 11
Ovenbird 48
Northern Waterthrush 5
Mourning Warbler 5
Common Yellowthroat 50 (new fall high)
Wilson's Warbler 10
Canada Warbler 7
American Redstart 70 (new banding season high)
Gray Catbird 94 (new fall high)
Brown Thrasher 4
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 25
Winter Wren 19
Brown Creeper 88 (new banding season high)
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 13
E. Tufted Titmouse 2
Black-capped Chickadee 70
Golden-crowned Kinglet 662 (new banding seasson high)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 518
Wood Thrush 1
Veery 6
Grey-cheeked Thrush 24
Grey-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 52
Hermit Thrush 82
American Robin 122 (new banding season high)

November 12th

We closed the station down for the season today. Hopefully Selkirk will be up and running sometime in mid/late March next spring.

Closed down with a pretty decent day which should make this fall's the best fall ever Selkirk. The running total in the log book is 3871 but this may be about 10 birds light to what Band manager's total may end up at. The species total in the mid 80's is low but that is the way it is.

Banded: NSWO 2, DOWO 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 7, RCKI 1 (female), HETH 1, COYE 1, ATSP 1, WTSP 2, SCJU 7, AMGO 4 = 28

John

November 11th

There was about a 5 hour window this morning that we took advanage of and did some banding. Not much a round compared to most days over the past 40 days or so. Banding totals more in line with what I would have expected at this time of the year. Variety but not numbers. The RCKI was another female for those at Ruthven to ponder over.

Banded BCCH 1, GCKI 2, RCKI 1, HETH 1, NOCA 1, WTSP 1 =7

FTD 3843 (best fall 3850!!!) Rick as you predicted Selkirk may make a new banding season high this fall. Over 400 birds banded at Selkirk so far this November, unbelievable.

John.

November 10th

I was off to a funeral today but the crew reported a very good day for the middle of November. Apparently the diurnal flight was something else. Over 40,000 Redwings alone were recorded going over.

Banding wise, banded: DOWO 1, BLJA 1,GCKI 4, RCKI 1,HETH 2, ATSP 5!!!!, SOSP 1, WTSP 1, SCJU 25 (over 350 banded this fall now), AMGO 3 = 44

FTD should be 3836 if the running total in the log book is correct. this is 14 birds shy of my best fall ever at Selkirk. To think that at the beginning of October I would have been plesed to have reached 3000 for the fall. October was real steady with no really large days. November normally has 1-2 days over 25 birds and a lot of 5-10 bird days. This Novmeber 17 has been the low day with most days in the 30-40 or better bird range. Unbelievable!!!

John

Selkirk - November 6th - 9th, 2006

2006-11-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

November 9th

The birds continue to move through Selkirk in steady numbers. American Tree Sparrows continue to be absent this fall.

Another pretty decent day. Banded: BLJA 2, GCKI 6, RCK 2, FOSP 1, WTSP 2, SCJU 28
AMGO 1 = 42

FTD 3792

John

November 8th

Not nearly as productive at Selkirk today as compared to the past 2 days but still a pretty decent banding day. The diurnal flight this morning was pretty good with 1000's of grackles, and 1000's redwings, lots of E. Bluebirds and a some robins going over for starters.

Banded: BCCH 2, GCKI 4, RCKI 1, HETH 1, NOCA 1, FOSP 1, SOSP 2, WTSP 1, SCJU 10 = 23

John

November 7th

The forecast was not encouraging for today. The parking lot was wet this morning, it was raining in Canborough so we decided to check the conditions around 6 am rather than stricking out in the dark. After 6 we decided to try a late start as nothing conclusive could be determined from the radar images.

The station was operational by 7:30 and a few birds were present. Other than a couple of short sprinkles the weather held off really well. Shortly after 1 a light rain settled in and we closed.
Banding wise a fairly productive day for the end of the first week of Noveber.

Banded: DOWO 1, BCCH 1, WBNU 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 19, RCKI 9, NOCA 1, FOSP 1, WTSP 1, SCJU 13 = 48

John

November 6th

A nice November day at Selkirk. Pleasant and sunny mainly. The trails are drying up. The worst sections are now tacky instead of soupy so the mud is sticking to the boots but that is a positive sign. Bird wise a good day number wise but variety is dropping off. Lots of diurnal migrants this morning. 1000's going over.

Banded: BCCH 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 6, RCKI 3, SCJU 29 = 40

John

November 5th, 2006 - Ruthven's final day of fall banding

2006-11-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Ruthven

A good finish to an interesting season.

Light southerly winds and overcast skies during the night is always good for banding at Ruthven. And so it was today - the last day of the Fall banding season here. We had a couple of good rounds before the wind picked up and bird movement tailed off noticeably. One interesting sighting was a small flock of Tundra Swans going by from west to east. I heard their beautiful call long before I was able to spot them.

Banded 55:
2 Brown Creeper
5 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
4 Hermit Thrush
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 American Tree Sparrow
5 Fox Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
4 White-throated Sparrow
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
10 Slate-coloured Junco
18 American Goldfinch.

Retrapped 29:
3 Downy Woodpecker
1 Blue Jay
10 Black-capped Chickadee (interestingly, most were caught at the same time in Net #10)
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 White-throated Sparrow
7 Slate-coloured Junco
3 American Goldfinch

Our Fall total is approximately 2,063 and our year total is approximately 4,886. I say 'approximately' because I have yet to enter the Fall data into the database. Usually there is a discrepancy between the count total and the electronic total due to......human error. (I then have to painstakingly go over the banding sheets to find the discrepancy.)

Thanks to everyone that helped make this season so productive and enjoyable!

Rick

Selkirk

As we progress into November the number of birds present and the variety falls off but the odd surprise does pop up. Today this trend was evident. However, a Monarch Butterfly was seen moving west today.

Banded:
1 BCCH (Black-capped Chickadee)
1 RBNU (Red-breasted Nuthatch)
2 BRCR (Brown Creeper)
3 GCKI (Golden-crowned Kinglet)
3 RCKI (Ruby-crowned Kinglet)
1 HETH (Hermit Thrush)
1 MYWA (Myrtle Warbler)
1 FOSP (Fox Sparrow)
4 SCJU (Slate-colored Junco)

Total = 17

John

November 2nd- 4th, 2006

2006-11-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

November 4th

Ruthven

It was cold (-5) and clear at opening time. A couple of White-throated Sparrows sang and chipped at me from the margins as I opened (but we didn't catch any of them today). There was a flurry of activity early but it petered out after that. For this time of year, we had pretty good variety for ET's - 39 species, the highlight being the first Rough-legged Hawk of the winter season (in fact, it was the first one encountered this year). I saw it just as I was closing the front gate on my way home.

Banded 34:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (including a very late female)
2 Hermit Thrush
2 American Robin
3 American Tree Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
14 Slate-coloured Junco
7 American Goldfinch

Retrapped 13:
6 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Brown Creeper
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Slate-coloured Junco
2 American Goldfinch

Interestingly, we have not encountered a single Purple Finch this Fall despite having banded a record number of them last year. Could this be due to the excellent cone crop being reported in the north?

Rick

Selkirk

A cool but sunny morning although the wind was strong enough in the open to make it raw on the hands. Bird Numbers have dropped substantially over the past couple of days but still pretty decent numbers for early November. ATSP (American Tree Sparrows) continue to be far and few. We have banded only 2 and have 1 retrap from last spring. That has been it period.

Banded: DOWO 1, BLJA 1, RBNU 1, GCKI 4, RCKI 1, HETH 2, EATO 1, SOSP 1, WTSP 4, SJCU 9 = 25

FTD 3622

John

November 3rd

Ruthven

Clear and cold at dawn this morning. Opening was delayed until it could warm up a bit. The day saw ever increasing wind and cloud cover. Not much in the nets lanes although there was some life around the feeders. My faithful flock of EUST (European Starling) seems to have departed.

A small flock of BUFF (Bufflehead) were observed on the river, and a lone frigid TRES (Tree Swallow) foraged fruitlessly in the -6C temperatures. A few TUVU (Turkey Vultures) were still in evidence following the river southwards.

Around midday a lone GRYE (Greater Yellowlegs) was observed flying over the park.

Banded 15: NOCA, FOSP 2, SOSP 3, SCJU 5, AMGO 4

Retrapped 10: BCCH 6, AMGO, WBNU 2, SCJU

B

Selkirk

A cool but sunny day for most of the time. Lake effect snows stayed south of Lake Erie. However a good heavy freeze overnight with shaded area still iced over when we left mid afternoon.

Bird wise numbers have dropped off substantially but still darn good for November. Anything over 10 I would consider good this time of the year.

Banded: BCCH 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 4, RCKI 2, HETH 1, OCWA 1, SOSP 1,WTSP 4, SCJU 8 = 23

John

November 2nd

Ruthven

A quiet dawn....followed by a quiet morning....ending with a cold, windy slightly-louder-but-equally-birdless early afternoon. Not much around the nets but there were some oddities such as an EATO (Eastern Towhee; always nice) and a semi-albino HETH (Hermit Thrush) with large white blotches of white on its rects, coverts, primaries and secondaries. It actually looked fairly sharp.

A very cold Clouded Sulphur was found sheltering in the grass near Net 10.

In other banding news I received notification about a MALL (Mallard) I banded in 1990 being shot near London this fall. The bird was at least 16 years old.

Banded 15: GCKI, AMGO, SCJU 3, BCCH 2, ATSP 2, HOFI, HETH, EATO, EUST 3

Retrapped 10: BCCH 4, DOWO, SCJU, BRCR, NOCA, AMGO 2

B

Selkirk

The day started off with lots of sun and no wind but by noon hour it was getting a little raw. Still a good number of birds present for early November. So far the ATSP (American Tree Sparrows) have failed to arrive. Just 2 stragglers so far.

Banded: BLJA 1, BCCJ 1, RBNU 1, GCKI 17, RCKI 4, HETH 4, NAWA 1, FOSP 2, SCJU 31, AMGO 1 = 63

As promised, Nov. 1st figures. I might add that finally after nearly a week of hearing BLJA (Blue Jays) and RBNU (Red-breasted Nuthatches) protesting in the pines we had a look. A LEOW (Long-eared Owl) was in the pines behind the banding trailer.

Banded; BRCR 4, GCKI 24, RCKI 10, BHVI 1, NOCA 1, ATSP 1, FOSP 3, SOSP 2, SWSP 1, WTSP 2, EWCS 1, SCJU 27 = 77

John

October 30th - November 1st, 2006

2006-10-31T18:14:00.000-08:00

November 1st

Selkirk's end-of-October report

Overview. Selkirk operated 26 days during October. 1676 birds were banded which is an average of just under 65 birds per day. This keep the crews busy. The fall to date total as at October 31 was 3432 which is the 3rd best fall at Selkirk durning the 9 years the station has operated in the fall.

Top 10 so far this fall

Golden-crowned Kinglet (GCKI) - 562
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (RCKI) - 480
Slate-colored Junco (SCJU) - 180
Magnolia Warbler (MAWA) - 168
American Goldfinch (AMGO) - 130
White-throated Sparrow (WTSP)- 125
American Robin (AMRO) - 123
Song Sparrow (SOSP) - 116
Myrtle Warbler (MYWA) - 110
Gray Catbird (GRCA) - 94

John

PS. November has started off well with a great day for November 1st. I forgot to write down the day's totals but 77 birds of 12 species were banded. Full listing tomorrow. Best bird may have been a Blue-headed Vireo (BHVI).

For Linda's information Tundra Swans are back and some were dropping down into the estuary or out onto the lake.

Ruthven

What a lovely day to start November! It was a more pleasant day than much of October. No wind to start, with some welcomed sunny breaks. There were more birds around than I had anticipated. Quite a few retraps. Most of these birds were banded very recently.
We are still banding Hermit thrushes, with 4 more today! (This is a Ruthven record, with well over 100 banded.)

Banded 40: 1 MODO, 4 BCCH, 2 GCKI, 1 RCKI, 1 EABL, 4 HETH, 1 AMRO, 3 NOCA, 3 ATSP, 2 WTSP, 15 SCJU, and 3 AMGO.

Retrapped 18: 5 BCCH, 1 BRCR, 1 GCKI, 3 HETH, 6 SCJU, 2 AMGO.

Loretta

___________________________________________________________________
October 31st

Ruthven

Gusty winds and light intermittent showers kept the few birds that were around hunkered down. It was very quiet with little visible migration. Fortunately, to keep the day lively, we had an influx of women: members of the Burlington chapter of CFUW - Canadian Federation of University Women. They were a keen and interested (and interesting) group that kept us on our toes. And they're going to come back to help us brush out a new walking trail.

We ended up banding 21:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
4 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 Hermit Thrushes
1 American Robin
1 Northern Cardinal
1 American Tree Sparrow
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
3 Slate-coloured Juncoes
2 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 12:
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Brown Creeper
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Northern Cardinal
4 Slate-coloured Juncoes
1 American Goldfinch

Rick

LOCAL THORN AMONG IMPORTED ROSES:

Ruthven Park's banding station was visited by members of the Burlington Chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women. Bander Rick Ludkin was able to give them a good introductory exposure to bird studies at the site. Rick reported: "Although I'm just a guy and not that bright, I found that sudden concentrated looks to the treetops or the cocking of my head to nebulous sounds in the underbrush, followed by busy scribbling in my notebook, was all it took to have them thinking I knew what was going on....."

Selkirk

A mild morning with the threat of light rain. Most of the morning was sunny breaks but a distance rumble of thunder could be heard now and then. A light rain started just about normal close down time so we got in a full day. The wind was a little brisk but the pines were again an effective wind block. Not as many birds banded today as compared to the past couple of days but still a decent day. Starting any day now 10 or so birds banded will be a good days catch.

A nice big am. toad was beside the muddy banding trail today. So far this October over 5.25" of rain has fallen to go with the down pours of September which brings the 2 month combined total to over 10 inches of rain. This is a lot for this part of the country and on the heavy clays the surface stays saturated.

Banded: RBNU 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 18, RCKI 7, NOCA 2, SOSP 1, SCJU 10 = 40

_____________________________________________________________
October 30th

Ruthven

A beautiful Fall day. Lots of bird movement - in terms of Canada Geese and blackbirds. An American Woodcock flew over net #2 while I was opening. Later, a Common Snipe passed overhead toward the flats on the other side of the river. There were quite a few birds around for this time of year although not much variety (35 species encountered).

Banded 49:
5 Mourning Doves
5 Black-capped Chickadees (unusual for ruthven at any time other than the fledging period)
2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
4 Hermit Thrush (we've banded well over 100 now which most certainly is a Ruthven record)
1 American Robin,
1 Northern Cardinal
1 American Tree Sparrow
4 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
11 Slate-coloured Juncos
11 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 12:
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Hermit Thrush
1 Northern Cardinal
3 Slate-coloured Juncos
3 American Goldfinches

Rick

Selkirk

When it is a nice day at Selkirk the usual pattern is for very few birds to be in the banding area. Fortunately that was not the case today. A pleasant fairly mild sunny day and no gale blowing!!!!! Maybe some of the mud may dry a bit. September and October have seen around 10" of rain fall. Everything is saturated. I can not recall so much slop (mud) around the banding area and this is with 100's of feet of drainage ditches dug and over 400 feet of wooden cat walks laid down over the cronic worst sections.

With the mild weather a garter snake, little brown snakes and even a wood frog were noted in the banding area.

Banded: SSHA 2, MODO 1, BLJA 1, RBNU 1, BRCR 5, GCKI 29, RCKI 3, HETH 2, AMRO 1, CEDW 6, MYWA 1, EATO 1, SOSP 1, SWSP 1, SCJU 21 = 76

The combined kinglet total is now over 1000 banded this fall.

John

October 29th, 2006

2006-10-30T04:24:00.000-08:00

Note: There are a few new pictures in the October 21st post.

Ruthven

It was a wonderful day at Ruthven for flying.....kites. The heavy, gusting winds were affecting all of the nets so I left them closed and hoped the traps would do the job. The sole bird that I caught, a Slate-coloured Junco, got into the trap before it was even baited. All the smart birds stayed hunkered down....somewhere else.

Rick

Selkirk

After yesterday's rain out today's forecast was for dry but very windy weather. The energetic crew went out early to try for Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO). (Boy is it nice to sleep in!!!) It was a starry night in the predawn but the only NSWO detected was one calling just south of the banding trailer.

Despite the gale force winds out in the open and the high wind warnings issued for the day the pines provided great wind protection resulting in 4 nets blowing a bit and the rest in fine shape.

Banding wise a good day!!!

Banded: BRCR 2, WIWR 1, GCKI 27, RCKI 7, MYWA 1, FOSP 1, SOSP 2, WTSP 2, SCJU 28 =71.

The Magnolia Warbler (MAWA) banded on the 27th was retraped today.

A wood frog was hopping by the banding net trail.

FTD 3316 (3rd best fall and at least 2 weeks to go).

John

October 26th-27th, 2006

2006-10-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

Please note: The October 24th-25th post has been updated.

October 27th

Ruthven

A cold bitter day made for a cold bitter bander. At least until dawn. A spectacular sunset with shades of fire orange and crimson did much to restore flagging spirits, as did the fact that the rain mostly held off until the nets were closed.

Many birds around, although they were for the most part quiet.

Banded 73:
AMGO 23 - American Goldfinch
RCKI 4 - Ruby-crowned Kinglet
GCKI 3 - Golden-crowned Kinglet
SCJU 14 - Slate-colored Junco
ATSP 13 - American Tree Sparrow
HOFI 4 - House Finch
EABL 2 - Eastern Bluebird
SOSP 2 - Song Sparrow
HETH 3 - Hermit Thrush
WTSP 2 - White-throated Sparrow
FOSP - Fox Sparrow
NOCA 2 - Nothern Cardinal

Retrapped 4:
AMGO - American Goldfinch
BCCH - Black-capped Chickadee
HETH - Hermit Thrush
SCJU - Slate-colored Junco

B.

Selkirk

A great sun rise to start the day but the clouds rolled in shortly thereafter. Enough of a breeze from the east to make it a chilling day when out in the open. A few sprinkles shortly after noon prompted an early close down so that when we got back to the park gates a light rain was starting in ernest.Banding wise a decent day.

Banded:
BRCR 1 - Brown Creeper
GCKI 16 - Golden-crowned Kinglet
RCKI 8 - Ruby-crowned Kinglet
HETH 6 - Hermit Thrush
BHVI 1 - Blue-headed Vireo
MAWA 1 - Magnolia Warbler
BTBW 1 -Black-throated Blue Warbler
NOCA 1 - Northern Cardinal
FOSP 1 - Fox Sparrow
WTSP 2 - White-throated Sparrow
EWCS 1 - Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
SCJU 7 - Slate-colored Junco
=46

John

October 26th

Selkirk

A cool start after a fairly clear night but it clouded over a bit and then it was sunny breaks for most of the morning with next to no wind. Never got that warm but no cutting wind chill to contend with.Bird wise it seemed fairly quiet compared to the past few days. Not as many blackbirds, robins etc going over nor the chorus of White-throated Sparrow along the edge of the marsh and the hedge rows. However a good number of Eastern Bluebird going over, perhaps 100's. It was a bit of a surprise of how well the day went when the day's effort was totaled. Actually a darn good day!!!

Banded: DOWO 1, EAPH 1, BLJA 2, BCCH 2, RBNU 1, BRCR 2, GCKI 46, RCKI 7, HETH 4, ATSP 1, FOSP 4, SOSP 1, SWSP 3, EWCS 1, SCJU 11, AMGO 6 (the first banded since mid Sept.!!!!) = 93

John

October 24-25th, 2006

2006-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

October 25th

Ruthven

An overcast day with a steady scattering of migrants, mostly Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, American Robin, American Goldfinch and Blue Jay, trickling overhead in the early part of the morning. There was a Carolinian feel to the day (a good thing given that Ruthven Park is situated in Carolinian forest) as at one point Carolina Wren, Eastern Tufted Titmouse and Red-bellied Woodpecker could all be heard calling at the same time from various parts of the property. Otherwise though the woods were fairly quiet, which made the steady stream of birds from the nets somewhat of a surprise.

The first Rusty Blackbird (RUBL) of the season was banded.

Banded 66: AMGO 21, GCKI, RCKI 6, BRCR 3, SCJU 8, MYWA, BCCH, LISP, SWSP, HETH 15, EWCS, SOSP 2, DOWO, AMRO 3, RUBL

Retrapped 11: GCKI, HOFI, AMGO 3, SCJU 3, BCCH 2, HETH

B.

Selkirk

A much better day weather wise and is often the, case nice weather no birds. At least after yesterday it seemed like no birds. It was actually a present decent banding day,

Banded: SSHA 1, EAPH 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 19, RCKI 11, HETH 2, AMRO 3, OCWA 2, MYWA 1, FOSP 3, WTSP 2 , SCJU 2 = 48

John

October 24th

Ruthven

There were lots of birds about, on this cool cloudy morning, with a nippy North West wind. Flocks of Junco’s Goldfinches, Robins, and Rusty Blackbirds were feeding in the grey dogwoods, in the willows, and on the ground. Fair numbers of Red tailed Hawks, Ring Billed Gulls, Mallards, Canadian Geese, and Grackles were higher overhead, on their way south.

We closed the nets after only 2 net rounds, as I had all the birds I could manage. We could easily have had well over 100 birds had I stayed open.

Banded 82:
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Brown Creeper
4 Golden-crowned Kinglet
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
11 Hermit Thrush
10 American Robin
4 Cedar Waxwing
2 Myrtle Warbler
2 Northern Cardinal
2 Song Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
16 Slate-colored Junco
20 American Goldfinch

Loretta

Selkirk

A cool start to the day with the first frost of the fall around the banding station. Stacey arrived shortly after 9 am so I was able to go to the lab for some blood work. Fairly slow up to my departure time so I was a little surprised when the results were phoned to me. John D. missed grabbing a Peregrine Falcon he had in a net before it rolled out. It would have been Selkirk's 2nd.

The crew got busy after I left and banded the following: MODO 1, BLJA 1, REBU 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 88, RCKI 28, HETH 2, AMRO 2, NAWA 3, MYWA 2, FOSP 1, SWSP, WTSP 1, SCJU 6 = 138

John

October 21st-23rd, 2006

2006-10-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Please let me know what you think about having all the bird species' names typed out completely, rather than seeing AOU codes. Good, bad, indifferent....let me know. (Use the comment function).

I have some more pictures from this past Saturday at Ruthven which I haven't had a chance to post. Perhaps they will come tomorrow.

October 23rd, 2006

Selkirk

A cool windy day with some sunny breaks Which to some extent did help dry the ground up a bit.

Not a bad day banding wise:

Banded 53:

1 Northen Saw-whet Owk
1 Winter Wren
22 Golden-crowned Kinglet
14 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 American Robin
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 Field Sparrow
2 Fox Sparrow
3 White-throated Sparrow
3 Slate-colored Junco

John Dickie is just back from a week moose hunting at his ranch near Haliburton. John advises that there are flocks of 50+ BCCH roaming around his property. Not sure if this is normal for up there or is there a late influx brewing???

John

October 22nd, 2006

Selkirk

The forecast for today was not encouraging so I did not get up until 5 am and noticed it was raining here at Jarvis. Continuous checks all morning and into the after noon were all the same. wet. wet wet! So it was with great surprise that I get a phone call from one of my subs who had spent the morning banding. According to him there were short showers but for the most part it was dry banding!!!!!! He even tried for NSWO for an hour in the predawn.

65 Birds banded:

1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Brown Creeper
34 Golden-crowned Kinglet
18 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Hermit Thrush
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
2 Nothern Cardinal
2 Slate-colored Junco

John

October 21st, 2006

Ruthven

It was a perfect banding day at Ruthven - windless and overcast. It was very quiet along the edges when I was opening so I thought that, perhaps, the birds didn't know this. But...they just quietly threw themselves into the net without the early morning fanfare.

Banded 133:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
1 Carolina Wren
20 Golden-crowned Kinglet
26 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
14 Hermit Thrush
2 Blue-headed Vireo
5 Myrtle Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
6 Fox Sparrow
12 Song Sparrow
1 Lincoln's Sparrow
14 White-throated Sparrow
23 Slate-coloured Junco
2 American Goldfinch
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow

Retrapped 11:
2 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Brown Creeper
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Eastern Bluebird
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Gray Catbird
1 White-throated Sparrow
2 Slate-coloured Junco.

Rick

Some photos from Saturday:

A Lincoln's Sparrow

Comparison of a Hermit Thrush(left) and a Gray-cheeked Thrush (right).

A Carolina Wren, Ruthven's first of the year.

A Blue-headed Vireo.

Saturday was a great day for Fox Sparrows at Ruthven (from the bander's perspective, and perhaps not the sparrow's).

Carolina Wren.

Blue-headed Vireo.

Another comparison of the Grey Cheeked (left) and Hermit Thrush (right).

Mitch and Loretta working on banding a Carolina Wren.

Selkirk

We were back at it in Selkirk this morning after taking yesterday off as a rain day. No great masses of birds descended on us but it was steady.

Banded 123:

1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
62 Golden-crowned Kinglet
19 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
7 Hermit Thrush
3 American Robin
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Myrtle Warbler
4 Song Sparrow
4 White-throated Sparrow
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
18 Slate-colored Junco

John

October 18th &19th, 2006

2006-10-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ruthven, October 19th

Another dull and dreary day, but the rain forecasted for the morning held off long enough for a few busy hours. I closed in a steady mist that turned into rain at 10 o’clock.

Banded 72: 1 OCWA (1st for fall) 1 BCCH, 1 BRCR, 3 GCKI, 11 RCKI, 6 HETH, 1 GRCA, 11 MYWA, 1 VESP (rather a surprise!), 3 SOSP, 13 WTSP, 6 SCJU, and 14 AMGO.

Retraped 8: 1 RCKI, 2 HETH, 1 BHVI, 1 MYWA, 2 WTSP, 1 AMGO.

Loretta

Selkirk, October 19th

The forecasted over night and morning rain did not materialize but appeared to have gone north and east of Selkirk. Consequently we got most of the morning in but another storm out of Ohio moved in just after noon so we closed early.

Bird wise we started off with a SY M SSHA but it was tough sledding after that. A few kinglets moved into the banding area late in the morning. so we did end up with a decent day.

Banded: SSHA 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 18, RCKI 6 = 26

John

Selkirk, October 18th

After yesterday's rain out we had a basically mild day with relatively light winds. Bird wise it was a reasonable good day.

Banded: SSHA 1, NSWO 1, BLJA 1, BRCR 7, WIWR 1, GCKI 26, RCKI 20, AMRO 7, BHVI 2, SOSP 3, WTSP 7, EWCS 1 = 77.

After a good summer Selkirk has not banded an AMGO since September 19th.

John

October 16th, 2006

2006-10-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Very cold and frosty this morning. All the nets were frozen shut at dawn and it took over 2 hours before all of them could be opened.

Lots of birds around however with flocks of Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Bluebird, Common Grackle, and Red-winged Blackbird criss-crossing the sky, and the ever-present Ruthven American Goldfinch contingent at the feeders was very active.

Banded 79: AMGO 31, RCKI 7, GCKI, BRCR 2, SCJU, MYWA 15, SOSP 3, WTSP 6, HETH 6, CEDW 2, EWCS, EABL, AMRO 2, BLJA

Retrapped 10: EABL, DOWO, AMGO 3, BCCH 3, BLJA, SOSP

B

Selkirk

A milder day and calmer winds made the day much more pleasant. Got out a little earlier than for the past few windy cold days but no luck so far this fall with Northern Saw-whet Owls. We have an interesting day, steady but no rush so it seemed like a bit of a quiet day but it turned out to be a good day when the tally was complete.

Banded: SSHA 1, MODO 1, BLJA 1, RBNU 1, BRCR 14, HOWR 1, GCKI 32, RCKI 45, HETH 5, AMRO 4, BHVI 4, NAWA 1, MYWA 1, CHSP 1, SOSP 3, WTSP 7, SCJU 5 = 127

Selkirk's top 10 so far this fall

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 333
Magnolia Warbler 167
Godlen-crowned Kinglet 156
American Goldfinch 124
American Robin 105
White-throated Sparrow 104
Song Sparrow 104
Myrtle Warbler 102
Gray Catbird 92
Yellow Warbler 90

John

October 13th, 14th & 15th, 2006

2006-10-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

October 15th

Ruthven

Clear skies overnight - Orion and a bit of moon were overhead when I started to open. Not much activity along the edges. But later, when the sun was just up, American Robins began to drop out of the sky, looking for a place to spend the day - to feed and rest.

Banded 90: 1 MODO, 1 HAWO, 1 BRCR, 2 GCKI, 14 RCKI, 8 HETH, 7 CEDW, 14 MYWA, 1 FOSP, 6 SOSP, 1 SWSP, 9 WTSP, 1 EWCS, 2 SCJU, 22 AMGO.

Retrapped 18: 1 MODO. 1 BCCH, 3 RCKI, 4 HETH, 1 MYWA, 4 SOSP, 2 WTSP, 2 AMGO.

Rick

Selkirk

A cool start to the day although the winds have dropped off a bit but still a little breezy and cutting until the sun got warming things up. Of note a Green Heron did a fly by twice at the tip. Monarch Butterflies and Dragon flys are still migrating.

A steady assortment of birds in the trees and a few raptors migrating over.

Several flocks of EABL were noted going overalong with other diurnal migrants.

Banded: RBNU 2. BRCR 3, GCKI 11, RCKI 17 HETH 5, WTSP 6, SCJU 4 = 48

John

October 14th

Ruthven

Windy and cold from the getgo and almost no call notes from the wood margins as I was opening...so I wasn't expecting much. So I was quite surprised when birds started to fill up the billowing nets. I was also pleased as this was "public demonstration" day and we had some visitors - that got their fill of bird banding. Between the three of us (Loretta, Brian and myself) we were able to give all of them a "banding experience".

Banded 103: 1 BCCH, 1 BRCR, 2 GCKI, 11 RCKI, 4 EABL, 11 HETH, 1 AMRO, 10 CEDW, 1 BHVI,
18 MYWA, 1 CHSP, 5 SOSP, 1 SWSP, 15 WTSP, 2 EWCS, 7 SCJU, 1 HOFI, 11 AMGO.

Retrapped 16: 1 DOWO, 2 BCCH, 1 RCKI, 1 EABL (this was a male, banded as a hatchiling in a Ruthven nestbox in 2004), 1 HETH, 1 NOCA, 5 WTSP, 1 SCJU, 1 HOFI, 2 AMGO.

The wimd was keeping the birds low. At one point we had 14 MYWA's in net #6 - all but one of them was in the bottom panel.

An immature Bald Eagle entertained the visitors in mid-morning.

Rick

Some photos from the day, courtesy of Faye Socholotiuk:

Faye Socholotiuk with a nice Eastern Bluebird.

Faye Socholotiuk and Leanne Jennings processing a Brown Creeper.

Elaine and Christine Otterman with an Eastern Bluebird.

A Blue-headed Vireo.

At Ruthven, this is where birds wait to be processed after being trapped and extracted. Apparently net #10 was popular on the 14th.

A Hermit Thrush

Selkirk

A much calmer day than yesterday but still a cool raw day especially from mid morning unwards as the wind picked up but the sun was nice. Of note a DCCO of all silly things was on the long foot bridge when I can in this morning and walked off the bridge in front of me in the tractor head lights before disappearing into the brush. When leaving the bird was back by the foot bridge in the marsh grasses where we caught it and released it in Spring Creek where it swam away. I suspect the bird was sick or we would have banded it. Neat blue/green eyes this bird had.

Not a bad day today.

Banded: SSHA 1, BLJA 1, BRCR 3, WIWR 1, GCKI 11, RCKI 18, HETH 1, AMRO 2, OCWA 1, SOSP 3, WTSP 15, SCJU 2 = 59

John

October 13th

Selkirk

A breezy day with a skif of snow on the ground at dawn. Not too far east of the Park apparently they got socked with snow. We had snow showers, small hail showers and rain showers on and off. However by about 10:30 am the winds were getting pretty strong and with forecast to reach 90 km (55mi.) we packed it in early but it took 2 1/2 hours to close with the 10,000 leaves that blew in.

Even with the weather codition less than ideal we managed to have a half decent day.
Banded: EAPH 2,BRCR 2, WIWR 1, GCKI 4, RCKI 12, HETH 1, AMRO 1, NAWA 2, MYWA 2, WTSP 2, SCJU 4 = 33

Selkirk has now gone over 2400 birds banded this fall.

John

October 12th, 2006

2006-10-13T07:23:00.001-07:00

Selkirk

A breezy damp day at Selkirk but the pines buffered the wind effect considerablely. After yesterday's rain out there was a steady movement of birds in the banding area. An influx of birds did occur just before noon but quieted down quickly. Ended up with a pretty good day.

Banded: MODO 1, EAPH 1, BLJA 1, BCCH 1, BRCR 6, GCKI 18, RCKI 36, HETH 5, AMRO 4, NAWA 2, MAWA 1, MYWA 1, BTNW 1, INBU 1, SOSP 7, SWSP 1, WTSP 5, EWCS 2, SCJU 1 = 95

The 1+" of rain received since Tuesday has not helped the trails to dry out.

John

October 10th, 2006

2006-10-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

After a slow long weekend it was a pretty good day today. The crew was kept busy with a flurry in the early afternoon.

Banded: MODO 1. EAPH 1, BLJA 1, RBNU 1, BRCR 3, WIWR 6, GCKI 11, RCKI 25, HETH 4, AMRO 4, MYWA 4, OVEN 1, SOSP 1, SCJU 18 = 82

John

October 9th, 2006

2006-10-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

A heavy blanket of fog covered the area for much of the morning. The sun finally burned through at 10:00 am. There were a few migrants around in the early portion of the day but when temperatures surpassed 20C they became less active.

Banded 61: AMGO 15, RCKI 14, MYWA 6, SCJU 2, WIWR, BHVI, WTSP 20, EWCS, HETH

Retrapped 14: AMGO 2, RCKI 4, BCCH 3, SOSP 3, WTSP 2

The retrap total does not included Ruby-crowned Kinglets (RCKIs) banded and recaptured the same day. I believe we recaptured more than half of the RCKI banded earlier in the morning. Some multiple times.....

Apparently MENSA has no RCKI members.

In a distressing turn of events it seems that the Pope is suffering from Avian Flu. The ailing pontiff is said to have caught it from a cardinal....

B

Selkirk

Basically a quiet day at Selkirk. Kinglets were in the area but not in in the net lanes. A few thousand blackbirds were going west but well over the tree tops.

Banded; BLJA 1, GCKI 2, RCKI 4, HETH 1, AMRO 1, NAWA 1, BTBW 1, NOCA 1, SOSP 1, WTSP 5 = 18

John

October 8th, 2006

2006-10-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Note: Selkirk's October 3rd,4th,&5th banding reports are now posted below (I forgot about them earlier).

Selkirk

A decent day but no records set. Last year the corresponding Thanksgiving weekend generated over 600 birds banded at Selkirk on the Saturday and Sunday. This year the total banded at Selkirk for the same two days barely reached 75 birds. What a difference a year makes!!!!!!!

Banded today: MODO 1, BRCR 2, GCKI 11, RCKI 10, HETH 1, NAWA 2, MYWA 1, INBU 2, FOSP 1, SOSP 1, WTSP 2, SCJU 12 = 46

John

Ruthven

Another clear night with bright moon. There was not nearly as much activity around the nets as the previous day but still a respectable number of birds were caught.

Flocks of Cedar Waxwing, Common Grackle, and Red-winged Blackbird were evident just after dawn but these diminished as the day progressed.

A lone Greater Yellowlegs made a brief appearance as well.

Banded 55: RCKI 12, AMGO 10, GCKI 4, BRCR 2, MYWA 3, FISP, DOWO, WTSP 12, HETH 3, SOSP 2, CEDW 4, EWCS

Retrapped 12: BCCH 5, DOWO, RCKI 3, SOSP, HETH, RBWO

A tale of 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (RCKI) - All the retrapped RCKI were banded the previous day. One was exactly the same weight, one was 0.6 g heavier, the final was 0.6 g lighter. Net change = 0.

B

October 3rd, 4th, 5th - Selkirk

2006-10-09T05:41:00.001-07:00

These are some posts that I forgot to get online a few days ago. October 5th was Selkirk's best day so far this fall.

Reminder: You can find interpretations for the four-letter alpha codes used in the banding reports using the link on the left side of the page titled "Interpret Four-Letter Alpha Codes."

October 5, 2006
A good day!! Banded: EAPH 1, BCCH 1, BRCR 8, WIWR 1, GCKI 6, RCKI 39, SWTH 2, HETH 12, AMRO 2, GRCA 2, REVI 1, NAWA 1, OCWA 2, MYWA 8, WPWA 2, OVEN 1, WTSP 12, EWCS 1, SCJU 4 = Total of 106

October 4, 2006
Rained out!

October 3, 2006
Banded the following during the infrequent sunny break: SSHA 2, EAPH 1, BRCR 1, GCKI 4, RCKI 2, AMRO 1 = Total of 11

October 6th-7th, 2006

2006-10-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ruthven, October 7th

A full moon lighted the path joining the net lanes. Even in the dark there was commotion along the edges - White-throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows calling and moving about. It was cold with frost patches. We weren't able to open Net #4 until the sun had been up for awhile. What a fabulous Fall day! In the Spring, beautiful cloudless days would translate into few to no birds. But not in October. It seems that in this month you will get good numbers of birds at Ruthven no matter what the weather.

Banded 124: 1 DOWO, 2 BCCH, 2 BRCR, 1 WIWR, 18 RCKI, 2 EABL, 8 HETH, 1 TEWA, 9 MYWA, 1 EATO, 1 FISP, 1 FOSP, 13 SOSP, 2 SWSP, 31 WTSP, 1 SCJU, 1 HOFI, 29 AMGO.

Retrapped 7: 1 HETH, 3 SOSP, 2 WTSP, 1 AMGO.

Rick

Selkirk, October 7th

As reported by Ruthven it was a clear moonlite night. I went out early to try for Northern Saw-whet Owl as John Dickie has seen one while opening the morning before but it was too bright. I did have an Eastern Screech Owl calling very near one of the east side hawthorn nets but it never found its way into a net.

Bird wise there seemed to be a fair bit around early but unlike our good morning of the 5th, reported earlier but not put on the blog, and a very good day yesterday today bird life died early and if it was not for a couple of small flocks of SCJU that appeared around noon we would have had a hard time reaching 30 birds today.

Banded: BLJA 1, GCKI 2, RCKI 10, AMRO 3, NAWA 1, BTNW 1, WTSP 1, SCJU 11 = 30.

John

Selkirk, October 6th

Finally a sunny day and NO RAIN!!!!!!While not quite as productive as yesterday the crew was kept busy with a fairly good day. When I left at noon there had not been a report of a RTHU but I did remove one from a net on the 5th. Last year the last one was noted on the 6th

The gang reports banding the following: SSHA 1, MODO 1, BLJA 2, BRCR 3, WIWR 3, GCKI 12, RCKI 34, SWTH 2, HETH 2, AMRO 2, NAWA 5, BTBW 2, MYWA 3, WTSP 4, SCJU 2 =78

FTD 2038

John

October 5th, 2006

2006-10-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

In a welcome change from the recent rain and heavy wind Thursday morning at Ruthven was fairly clear, fairly still, and, most importantly, fairly bandable. The effects of the heavy recent rains were apparent at the station as the creek along the Carolinian Trail had burst it's banks at Net 10, and there were large pools of standing rain water all through the lawn around the station.

There was much bird activity, particularly in the morning. Diversity was low however, with only 33 species being encountered.

Banded 107: RCKI 11, BRCR 3, AMGO 17, GCKI 2, CSWA, MYWA 31, SCJU, SWSP, LISP, REVI, WTSP 14, HETH 13, SOSP 5, EWCS 5, GRCA

Retrapped 4: BCCH, AMGO, DOWO, NOCA

B.

September 28th - October 1st, 2006

2006-10-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

October 1st, 2006

A fairly pleasant early October day with lots of sun in the morning

Banded: MODO 1, BLJA 2, BCCH 1, GCKI 6, RCKI 18, GCTH 1, HETH 1, GRCA 1, REVI 1, MAWA 3, NYWA 4, INBU 1, SOS2, WTSP 3, SCJU 1 = 46

John

September 30th, 2006

For a forecasted rain out, it was a breezy but sunny morning. Light rain finally arrived as the nets were 3/4 of the way closed. A pretty decent day considering the forecast.

Banded: BLJA 2, HOWR 1, WIWR 1, GCKI 8, RCKI 15, SWTH 1, NAWA 2, MAWA 1, BTBW 3, RBGR 1, WTSP 3, SCJU 1 = 39

John

September 29th, 2006

A pretty good day, steady with good variety.

Banded: EAPH 1, BLJA 1, BRCR 3, GCKI 6, RCKI 5, GCTH 2, SWTH 5, HETH 2, AMRO 4, GRCA 2, TEWA 1, BTBW 1, MYWA 12, WPWA 3, AMRE 2, COYE 1, SOSP 5, LISP 1, SWSP 1, WTSP 15 = 74

John

September 28th, 2006

A late start and an early finish while dodging rain drops. Still managed to band a few birds.
Banded: EAWP 1, BLJA 1, HOWR 1, RCKI 5, GCCH 2, NAWA 1, MYWA 2, OVEN 1,COYE 1, WTSP 1 = 16

FTD 1643

Selkirk's top 10 so far this fall (Sept 28th)

Magnolia Warbler 162
American Goldfinch 124
Yellow Warbler 90
Gray Catbird 87
Song Sparrow 81
American Robin 77
American Redstart 68
Myrtle Warbler 65
Cedar Waxwing 57
Nashville Warbler 53

John

September 26th and 27th, 2006

2006-09-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

September 27th

Ruthven

There was lots of bird activity during pre dawn net opening. Hundreds of swallows were moving south over the river. The first net round was not disappointing, filling every net bag I carried with me. But by 9 o’clock, the wind was up, and the birds disappeared. It took me forever to close the leaf filled nets!

A small movement of Ruby crowned kinglets was evident today.

Banded 59: 1 LEFL, 2 BCCH, 17 RCKI, 2 GRCA, 1 BHVI, 1 WAVI, 3 REVI, 4 NAWA, 1 CSWA, 4 MAWA, 1 BTBW, 1 BTNW, 1 BLPW, 1 BAWW, 2 AMRE, 2 COYE, 1 WIWA, 1 CHSP, 2 SOSP, 8 WTSP, 1 HOSP, and 2 AMGO.

Retrapped 12: 2 DOWO, 5 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 1 GRCA, 1 TEWA, 1 AMGO, and 1 NOCA.

2 of the retrapped Chickadee’s were originally banded in July from the same net at the same time, and I retrapped them together from the same net at the same time today. They are both hatch year birds.

Loretta

Selkirk

While numbers present in the banding area have been falling off from the last peak on Monday it was still a decent day at Selkirk.

Banded; SSHA 1, MODO 1, BLJA 1, HOWR 1, WIWR 1, GCKI 3, RCKI 2, GCTH 2, AMRO 2, BHVI 2, REVI 1, NAWA 4, CSWA 1, MAWA 3, BTBW 3, MYWA 1, PIWA 1=30

John

September 26th

Selkirk

A little quieter day at Selkirk today although the variety was a bit better.

Banded: SSHA 1, MODO 1, EAPH 1, BLJA 3, BCCH 2, RBNU 1, RCKI 3, GCTH 1, HETH 1, AMRO 2, GRCA 1, BRTH 1, BHVI 1, REVI 1, NAWA 2, MAWA 4, BTBW 3, MYWA 3, BLBW 2, BAWW 1, AMRE 2, OVEN 3, COYE 1, WTSP 1 = 42

John

September 25th, 2006

2006-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Note: Several reports from Ruthven have been added to the Sept 20th-24th post below.

Ruthven

The nets were opened under the twinkling stars of a clear sky. As dawn approached the receding darkness began to fill with the contact calls of migrants descending on to Ruthven Park for respite from their long journey. Common Yellowthroat began to bicker in the shrubby areas surrounding the banding lab while the harsh cry of Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers could be heard from amongst the flocks of flitting jewels gleaning the foliage for succulent morsels.

The initial net round was rewarding and held the promise of a day filled with bounty....

Too bad the wind picked up and wrecked it all. Despite much activity in the sheltered areas of the property not much was captured after the first round. The exception were Grey Catbird and a small family group of Eastern Tufted Titmouse which was captured near Net 6.

Banded 29: GRCA 8, SOSP, HETH, SWTH, ETTI 2, COYE 2, MYWA 2, AMRE, RCKI 6, BTNW 3, NAWA, MAWA

Retrapped 4: HOWR, BTNW, SOSP, TEWA - the latter was banded on Sept 9th so has been hanging around for 16 days.

B.

Selkirk

The morning started up with numerous bird calls, something that has been lacking the past few days. A bit of a run on thrushes and sparrows early while there seemed to be a good number of passerines in the trees. We had a good steady day but were not swamped.

Banded: MODO 1, HOWR 1, RCKI 10, GCTH 4, GCBT 1, SWTH 3, AMRO 4, BHVI 1, REVI 2, NAWA 10, NOPA 1, MAWA 5, BTBW 10, MYWA 8, BTNW 1, AMRE 3, COYE 2, WIWA 1, INBU 1, WTSP 11, SCJU 1 = 83

John

Photos from September

2006-09-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos that were promised a while ago. It seems that blogger will no longer let me upload the very large photos that I have uploaded in the past, but at least it is still letting me upload photos. The first bunch were taken at Ruthven on September 16th, when the McMaster Biodiversity students were visiting.

(Photo captions appear above the photos).

The first Tufted Titmouse of the fall was spotted on September 16th. None banded though.

A Wood Frog, spotted by Peter in the forest near the river.

On Satuday the 16th a Ruffed Grouse flew into a window of the mansion at Ruthven. While the Grouse won the battle between it and the window, it certainly didn't make it through unscathed. It's a good thing these birds spend most of their time on the ground.

One of the visitors holding a Black-and-White warbler.

A very happy McMaster Ph.D. student holding Ruthven's 2nd-ever Hooded Warbler.

A better look at the Hooded Warbler, a nice looking male. The feathers on his head are messed up because he had just been 'skulled' to determine his age.

A Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider, found close to the river.

A reader will have to let me know what this guy is.

A McMaster student holding a Philadelphia Vireo.

Brian found this little Snapper close to the mansion.

A few new nets were setup on Saturday, with the help of the McMaster students. The one on the ground is the old one; notice the color--the nets turn a light brown after sitting in the sun for a while, and then only the stupidest birds fly into them.

Peter and Mitch found a large stand of Woodland Goldenrod in the south woods at Ruthven.

One section of that large stand of Woodland Goldenrod (there was much more).

The following photos were taken at Selkirk, using the camera that Haldimand Bird Observatory won a few years ago for its efforts in the Baillie Birdathon.

I'll let the readers identify this bird (leave a comment, and don't be shy). First person to leave the correct response wins nothing.

September 20th - 24th

2006-09-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

September 24th, 2006

Selkirk

Another very slow day at Selkirk, a little breezy but a sunny morning after several showery days. Varitety but certainally no numbers in the banding area.

Banded: BCCH 1, RCKI 1, GCTH 1, BHVI 1, MAWA 1, BTBW 1, MYWA 1, AMRE 1, OVEN 1= 9

John

September 23rd, 2006

Ruthven

We had a good day at Ruthven, despite the dismal weather forecast. Yes it was damp, but more of heavy mist than rain. The mosquitoes were more of a deterrent than the weather! The numbers were down from Friday, but the big difference was in numbers of Goldfinches banded. (Only 3 today, 23 yesterday) We handled 27 species today, (including a hatch year male Northern Parula, a very handsome bird!)

Banded 37: 1 NOPA, 1 MODO, 1 EAWP, 1 BCCH, 1 RCKI, 1 GCTH, 1 GRCA, 2 REVI, 1 TEWA, 1 NAWA, 2 MAWA, 2 BTNW, 2 BLPW, 2 AMRE, 1 OVEN, 3 COYE, 1 WIWA, 2 INBU, 2 CHSP, 2 SOSP, 2 LISP, 1 WTSP, 1 HOSP, and 3 AMGO.

Retrapped 12: 1 BLJA, 2 BCCH, 1 GRCA, 1 PHVI, 2 REVI, 1 TEWA, 1 MAWA, 1 NOCA, 1 WTSP, 1 AMGO.

Selkirk

A soggy morning to start. More a on and off mist than a good rain storm but it cleared off. with the sun out by noon.

Bird wise very little around all morning in the banding area but the large Dragon Flies, Monarchs and Red Admirals were going through in number.

Banded: RCKI 1, SWTH 1, BRTH 1, NAWA 1, MAWA 2, MYWA 3, BRNW 1, LISP 1 =11.

Mike Postma, the park superintend, was out to day and had a look at the large white pine that is now down to about a 40o angle to the ground in the hard woods that I have expressed concerns to the park contractor for the past couple of years as the lean has been getting worst. I understand a profession tree cutter has been engaged to remove this safety hazard. Perhaps as early as tommorrow afternoon.

John

September 22nd, 2006

Ruthven

It was a mostly cloudy day, with a bonus, no wind; therefore, relatively few leaves!
What a rewarding day for banding! 26 bird species handled today, including thirteen species of warblers!

The first Slate Coloured Junco was spotted on the grounds.

Banded 72: 3 BCCH, 1 HOWR, 1 SWTH, 1 WOTH, 5 GRCA, 1 BHVI, 5 REVI, 2 TEWA, 4 CSWA, 7 MAWA, 1 CMWA, 1 BTBW, 1 BTGW, 2 BLBW, 2 BLPW, 3 OVEN, 1 COYE, 1 INBU, 4 WTSP, 23 AMGO, 1 OCWA, 1 NOPA, and 1 HAWO.

Retrapped 9: 1 DOWO, 2 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 1 REVI, 1 BLPW, 1 AMRE, 1 INBU, and 1 AMGO.

Selkirk

The big item of interest at Selkirk today was a massive monvement of D.C. Cormorants going west along the Lake Erie shore line.When I got out to the tip on census I noticed a termendous flock of DCCO that extended fro horizon to horizon and just kept coming for several minutes. Massive more continued to move just above the water. All told it took nearly 20 minutes for this massive flight to go by. Smaller groups continued to come through, 3-4 groups of 75-100 in the air at once was a drop in the bucket from the large group the preceeded them. I conservatively estimate 20,000 DCCO went by while I was there. The birds continued to move through in small groups for most of the day.

Banding wise only about 1/2 the number of birds noticed that were present yesterday.

Banded: DOWO 2, WIWR 1, GCKI 1, RCKI 1, GRCA 3, TEWA 1, NAWA 4, AMRE 5 COYE 1 = 19

John

September 21st, 2006

Ruthven

I opened a couple of nets midday for a group of Grade 5 students visiting Ruthven Park for a tour of the mansion. Despite the time of day there was apparently a good selection of birds around, including the season's (for Ruthven) first MYWA, CMWA and BHVI. In two hours I banded 16 birds of 8 species.

Banded 16: HOFI 2, REVI 2, BHVI, MYWA 2, CMWA, AMGO 3, MAWA 4, TEWA

Retrapped 3: TEWA, AMGO, BCCH

B

Selkirk

A few more birds around today although not as many raptors going over as yesterday. Overall a pretty decent day.

Banded: LEFL1, EAPH 1, BCCH 3, RCKI 1, SWTH 6, AMRO 3, GRCA 3, BHVI 1, REVI 2, NAWA 2, MAWA 8, MYWA 7, WPWA 1, BAWW 1 = 40

John

Several days in September 2006

2006-09-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hello blog-readers. I must apologize for the delay in getting these banding reports online. I had been waiting to post some pictures with the reports, but blogger continues to have problems posting pictures, so here is the text. Pictures will follow when blogger allows.

Rock Point Banding Station, one of the three Haldimand Bird Observatory stations, is active this fall. Daily banding reports for Rock Point can be viewed at http://www.geocities.com/rockpointbanding/ .

Reminder: Use the link on the right side of the page labelled "Interpret four-letter alpha codes" to figure out which species each four letter code indicates in the banding reports.

September 19th, 2006

Ruthven

A heavy over-night rain left standing pools of water in the lawn of the mansion, made the creek along the Carolinian Trail a raging torrent, and created quaint waterfall down the path at Net 4.

A few new migrants were in evidence during the early morning but many of the same old avian faces made an appearance as the day went on.

Banded 33: AMGO 10, MAWA 5, AMRE 2, CHSP 3, BLPW, BCCH, OVEN 2, REVI 2, SWTH 2, SOSP, GRCA, NOCA, AMRO 2

Retrapped 13: AMGO 3, BCCH, WBNU 2, HOWR, MAWA, SOSP, CSWA, TEWA, SWTH, BAWW

B.

Selkirk

Still another slow day at Selkirk although a mixed flock of warblers were evident in the hardwoods just north of the banding area. This flock would work its way to the south side of the hardwoods but would not come into the pines. This movement in the hardwoods is fairly regular at Selkirk but especially on slow days can be frustrating.

For the past couple of weeks Mourning Doves seems to be spending a lot of time under the white pines literally in the middle of the pine plantation on the ground. I am guessing but wonder if the doves are after the pine seeds which are all over the ground.

Banded: MODO 1, BCCH 2, GCTH 2, SWTH 1, NAWA 1, CSWA 1, BTBW 1, COYE 1, AMGO 1 = 11

September 18th, 2006

Ruthven

The wind was blowing moderately at opening and increased as the day progressed. The biomass of captured leaves was much higher than that of captured migratory birds.

Banded 15: AMGO 4, BLBW, BTNW 2, MAWA 2, COYE 2, REVI, GCTH, GRCA, RBGR

Retrapped 10: SWTH, CSWA, AMRE 2, GRCA, BCCH 3, PHVI, BAWW

The retrapped warblers, vireo, and thrush were originally banded last week, revealing a lack of recent migratory movement.

B.

Selkirk

Where have all the birds gone? For the second day in a row there has been next to nothing in Selkirk with regards to migrating passerines. For that matter even the local residents have been remaining out of sight.

On casual glances upwards raptors are going over the park and Blue Jays have commenced their fall migration flocks moving along the lake shore. Monarchs and large dragon flies were the most obvious migrants.

Banded today: ETTI 2, SWTH 1, AMRO 4, BLPW 1, COYE 1 = 9

John

September 17th, 2006

Ruthven

If a leaf falls in the forest, does it hit a mist net? Inevitably it seems at Ruthven Park...

A foggy early morning filled with the sounds of migrants descending into the wooded areas of the property. Once the fog burned off there was a brief flurry of activity at the nets before the wind picked up and clogged them with leaves.

Sadly the Mac Biodiversity folks left us today, leaving behind fond memories and a small Eastern Garter Snake that had taken up residence in the Coach House.

Over the river a Cooper's Hawk was observed playing aerial tag with an unwilling Belted Kingfisher.

Banded 49: AMGO 12, NAWA 2, TEWA, CSWA 2, AMRE 2, MAWA 3, COYE, YBFL, PHVI 2, WAVI, BLPW, BCCH, OVEN, REVI 3, INBU, HOFI, SWTH 4, GCTH 3, WTSP 2, SOSP 2, WOTH, GRCA, NOCA

Retrap 3: MAWA, SOSP, BCCH

The retrapped BCCH was banded as a SY in March 2002 and is now on its 5th retrap card.

B

Selkirk

A nice day but the slowest day banding for the month so far. Next to nothing in the banding area.

Banded: MODO 1, GCTH 1, AMRO 4, MAWA 2, BTBW 1, WTSP 1 =10

John

September 16th, 2006

Ruthven

McMaster's biodiversity students were visiting this weekend. Got there extra early to make them think that banding is REALLY arduous. Overhead, in the dark, birds were calling as they descended - stopping their migration for the day.

It looked like it was going to be a clear day. There weren't very many birds around for the first 2 hours. But then the clouds rolled in, the ground fog lifted and the birds began to move. Had a good mix including a striking male Hooded Warbler!

Banded 57: 1 MODO, 1 YBCU, 1 DOWO, 1 RCKI, 1 GCTH, 3 SWTH, 1 GRCA, 4 PHVI, 1 REVI, 1 NAWA, 3 MAWA, 1 BTNW, 11 BLPW, 1 BAWW, 2 OVEN, 2 COYE, 3 SOSP, 18 AMGO, 1 HOWA.

Retrapped 6: 1 LEFL, 2 BCCH, 1 SOSP, 2 AMGO.

Rick

Selkirk

Another quiet day at Selkirk, variety but no numbers. Ended up with a decent day but for the most part small passerines seemed hard to find.

Banded: RCKI 2, VEER 1, GCTH 2, SWTH 1, AMRO 1, BHVI 1, WAVI 1, PHVI 2, REVI 3, MAWA 4, BTBW 1, MYWA 2, BLBW 1, BLPW 1, BAWW 1, AMRE 4, RBGR 1, SOSP 1 = 30

John

Selkirk, September 13th - 15th, 2006

2006-09-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

September 15th, 2006

A steady day at Selkirk with a few birds filtering through.

Banded: SSHA 1, HOWR 1, GCTH 1. SWTH 2, AMRO 2, GRCA 1, BHVI 1, NAWA 1, MAWA 1, CMWA 2, MYWA 3, BPWA 1, AMRE 1, COYE 1, INBU 1 = 20

John

September 14th, 2006

A little drier day with the sun out for a while this morning. A few more birds today but nothing exciting or outstanding.

Banded: MODO 1, YBFL 1, RCKI 2, SWTH 2, AMRO 3, REVI 1, TEWA 1, NAWA 2, MAWA 1, BTBW 1, PLBW 2, AMRE 1, AMGO 3 = 21

John

September 13th, 2006

Another wet morning to start off. Light showers and drizzle clearing so that the sun was breaking through by noon hour. Not much around today after what was present yesterday.

Banded; MODO 1, RCKI 1, AMRO 1, MAWA 2, AMRE 4, OVEN 3, AMGO 2 = 14

John

September, 12th, 2006

2006-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

The rain, although light for the most part, inhibited the opening of nets too far from the station. There was a fair bit of action even then though, including the first MERL of the season.

A visitor from Wales spent the morning ringing at Ruthven, giving the station an international tone.

Banded 42: AMGO 17, BLBW, CSWA, MAWA, TEWA, PHVI 4, EAWP 2, YBFL, HOWR, COYE, BTBW, BBWA, LEFL, REVI 5, CEDW, SWTH, SOSP, GRCA

Retraps: WBNU, BCCH 3, MAWA 2, LEFL, COYE, GRCA

B

Selkirk

I waited until the worst of the early morning rain storm blew over before venturing out.
Consequently the Station was not operational until nerly 9:30 am. We closed at 1:30 PM as a second wave of rain was expected for the afternoon.

Overall considering the late start, what appered to be next to no birds in the area when opening we ended up with a good day.

Banded: MODO 1, EAWP 2, HOWR 2,RCKI 2, GRCA 1, REVI 7, NAWA 6, CSWA 2, MAWA 9, MYWA 3, AMRE 3, OVEN 3, COYE 1, AMGO 12 = 54

John

September 11th, 2006

2006-09-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

The nets were a hive of activity this morning at Ruthven, mostly due to the vast quantity of leaves that had to be removed. There was however the odd bird in amongst the leaf litter, including the season's first CONW and WPWA.

The wind, combined with fewer apparent birds, meant the day's catch was a bit lower than the previous couple of days.

Banded 38: MODO, RBGR 2, GRCA 2, SWTH 5, SOSP, REVI, BAWW 2, EAWP, HOWR, COYE 2, CONW, WPWA, YBFL, CSWA, MAWA 4, AMGO 11, NAWA

Retraps 7: AMGO 2, MAWA 2, BCCH 2, WBNU

B

Selkirk

After yesterday it appears the birds went back to Ruthven. Overall a quiet day with only a couple of small flocks that put in rare appearances in the woods at Selkirk.

Banded: YBFL 1, RCKI 3, VEER 1, REVI 1, NAWA 3, MAWA 6, BTBW 3 MYWA 2, BTNW 1, COYE 1 = 22

FTD 1201

John

September 10th, 2006

2006-09-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Fewer birds around than yesterday's fallout, but still managed to band 10 species of warbler. There was only one recovery of a bird banded Saturday (a LEFL) so apparently most of them moved out in the night.

Banded 62: MAWA 7, BGGN, AMGO 15, NAWA 3, RCKI, AMRE, TEWA, CSWA, NOPA, EAWP, CAWA, YBFL, PHVI 2, BLPW, RBGR 2, NOCA, COYE, WAVI, BTBW, OVEN 3, REVI 2, SWTH 2, SOSP 2, GRCA 6, HAWO, MODO 3

Retraps 6: WBNU, AMGO, BCCH 2, LEFL, GRCA

B

Selkirk

After yesterday's slow day compared to Ruthven the bird numbers at Ruthven yesterday made it to Selkirk this morning. The question is where were they yesterday???

In one aspect it was a funny day. You would go around and there would be next to nothing. The next trip 10-20 birds would be in a group of nets and the rest of the area pretty quiet. Also having a few SSHA patrolling the banding area did not keep the birds too active.

Banded; DOWO 1, YBFL 3, TRFL 1, BCCH 1, WIWR 1, RCKI 2, VEER 1, GCTH 1, SWTH 4, BHVI 1, PHVI 1, REVI 3, TEWA 1, NAWA 7, CSWA 2, MAWA 26, MYWA 4, BTNW 2 . PIWA 1, WPWA 5, BLPW 3, BAWW 5, AMRE 10, OVEN 6, MOWA 1, COYE 1, WIWA 3, AMGO 4 = 101

John

September 9th, 2006

2006-09-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Big "Fallout" at Ruthven

Last night started off clear but a front moved through bringing heavy overcast. This caused a lot of birds to cease their migration and hunker down. It seems that a lot did in the Ruthven area.

We banded 101 birds this morning of 34 species. Of the birds banded 51 of them were warblers of 17 species. Needless to say, it was a most interesting (and rewarding) morning.

Banded 101: 4 EAWP, 2 YBFL, 2 TRFL, 1 LEFL, 5 BCCH, 3 HOWR, 1 VEER, 3 SWTH, 2 GRCA, 1 WAVI, 1 PHVI, 14 REVI, 2 TEWA, 1 NAWA, 1 YWAR, 3 CSWA, 1 NOPA, 10 MAWA, 2 BTBW, 7 BTNW, 1 BLBW, 4 BBWA, 6 BLPW, 1 BAWW, 3 AMRE, 1 MOWA, 3 COYE, 3 WIWA, 2 CAWA, 1 SCTA, 2 RBGR, 4 INBU, 2 SOSP, 2 AMGO.

Retrapped 13: 1 DOWO, 4 BCCH, 2 WBNU, 2 GRCA, 1 WAVI, 1 PHVI, 1 YTVI, 1 MAWA.

Rick

Selkirk

Still another slow day at Selkirk. A bit more variety but no numbers.

Banded: EAWP 1, BCCH 1, SWTH 2, AMRO 1, REVI 2, NAWA 1, MAWA 2, BLPW 2, WIWA 1, NOCA 1, SOSP 1, AMGO 2 = 17

Large dragon flies continue to go through in mass.

John

September 8th, 2006

2006-09-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

Today was the slowest day in over 2 weeks at Selkirk. Passerines were very scarce in Selkirk. The daily filtration of new birds through the banding area did not take place. The flight of large dragon flies continued to day with often dozens if not 100's visible from one spot.

I found a plant in Selkirk yesterday I had not seen in the park before, a great lobelia.

Banded; LEFL 1, BCCH 1, SWTH 1,AMRO 1, MAWA 1, OVEN 3, AMGO 6 = 14

John

Selkirk - September 7th, 2006

2006-09-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Steven advises there was a good flight over the Vineland area around midnight and I heard several thrushes in the morning twilight but these birds for the most part seemed to have avoided the netting area today. Banding numbers were up slightly and there was a better selection of warblers present but not a single thrush banded today!!!

Banded: MODO 2, LEFL 1, BCCH 3, REVI 4, NAWA 1, CSWA 5, MAWA 8, BTBW 3, MYWA 1, BAWW 1, AMRE 1, OVEN 2, COYE 1, CAWA 1, NOCA 1, SOSP 1, AMGO 8 = 44

Good numbers of large dragon flies continue to move west today.

John

Selkirk - September 5th, 2006

2006-09-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Another pretty decent day at Selkirk today.

Banded: SSHA 1, MODO 1, LEFL 1, BCCH 1, HOWR 1, SWTH 4, GRCA 1, REVI 6, NAWA 1, MAWA 2, CMWA 1, BTBW 1, BLPW 1, AMRE 4, COYE 1, SCTA 1, SOSP 1, LISP, AMGO 9 = 39

I keep forgetting to mention a MODO that was banded last week. MODO normal have 4 toes. We caught 1 that had 5 toes on one foot and 6 toes on the other.
The right foot had 4 toes coming off the foot but the back toe at the last joint had two tips of a toe come out of the last joint. Each section (appendices) had a fully developed toe nail. This toe had the appearance of a "Y".
The left leg had the normal 3 front toes but there were 3 complete toes side by side where the 4th side toe should be. Also the leg itself was enlarged (for the extra tendons??) so that a 3A band would not close.

John

September 4th, 2006

2006-09-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

There was hint of Fall in the air this morning and the birds knew it. There was good variety around (53 species for ET's) 25 species of which found there way into the nets.

Banded 56: 1 BBCU, 2 EAWP, 1 YBFL, 3 GCFL, 3 BCCH, 3 HOWR, 2 BGGN, 1 VEER, 1 SWTH, 1 AMRO, 3 GRCA, 1 WAVI, 1 PHVI, 1 REVI, 1 CSWA, 8 MAWA, 1 BTNW, 1 BLBW, 1 AMRE, 1 COYE, 1 WIWA, 1 CAWA, 2 SCTA, 5 SOSP, 10 AMGO.

Retrapped 8: 1 DOWO, 2 BCCH, 1 WAVI, 2 NOCA, 1 SOSP, 1 AMGO.

Rick

Selkirk

A good size crew out today with 7 volunteers present. A few Common Nighthawk (CONI) were noticed over the field on census. Seemed fairly quiet in the banding area but birds continued to appear in the nets.

Banded; MODO 4, EAWP 2, SWTH 2, GRCA 2, MAWA 4, CMWA 1, BTBW 2, MYWA 1, AMRE 1, OVEN 1, NOCA 1, SOSP 2, AMGO 6 = 28.

16 retraps also were proessed.

John

Selkirk - September 3rd, 2006

2006-09-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

Another decent day at Selkirk. Steady but not too many at any one time.

Banded : MODO 3, BBCU 1, DOWO 1, YSFL 1, AMRO 2, CEDW 1, TEWA 1, MAWA 6, BAWW 1, AMRE 3, OVEN 3, COYE 1, WIWA 2, NOCA 1, SOSP 1, AMGO 12 = 40.
29 retraps were also processed.

Note worth birds found in the area today included Eared Grebe (EAGR), American Bittern (AMBI), Black-crowned Night Heron (BCNH) & Yellow-breasted Chat (YBCH).

John

Selkirk - Aug 30th, 31st, Sept 1st

2006-09-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

September 1st, a pretty good day.

Banded: TRFL 1, LEFL 1,SWTH 1, GRCA 2, WAVI 2, REVI 4, TEWA 1, NAWA 1, MAWA 5, BTBW 1, MYWA 5, BTNW 1, AMRE 2, OVEN 3, NOWA 1, MOWA 1,WIWA 1, NOCA 1, INBU 1, AMGO 4 = 40

A rareity for Selkirk was in the estuary, a Pied-billed Grebe.

August 31, a pretty fair day.

Banded: MODO 1, LEFL 1, BCCH 1, HOWR 1, CEDW 2, MAWA 8, BTBW 2, MYWA 3, BTNW 1, AMRE 1, OVEN 2, COYE 1,CAWA 1, NOCA 2, AMGO 4 = 31.

The 2 Cedar Waxwing (CEDW) were locals just out of the nest. An Olive-sided Flycatcher was at the "tip".

August 30th

Another decent day at Selkirk. I had to leave before the nets were closed so John D. phoned me the results: Banded 37 birds and processed 18 retraps.

Banded: MODO 1, TRFL 2, HOWR 1, VEER 1, GRCA 2, REVI 4, TEWA 1, MAWA 2, MYWA 4, BAWW 2, AMRE 2, OVEN 4, NOWA 1, COYE 1, CAWA 1, RBGR 1, SOSP 1, AMGO 6 = 37

John

Selkirk - August 29th, 2006

2006-08-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today's crew varried from 4 to 5 but there was not nearly as much around. But still a good day for this time of the year at Selkirk

Banded: YBFL 2, SWTH 2, GRCA 2, REVI 2, TEWA 1, NAWA 2, MAWA 10, BTBW 1, MYWA 2, BBWA 1, BAWW 1, AMRE 8, OVEN 1, MOWA 1, CAWA 2, NOCA 1, BAOR 2, AMGO 4 = 45

John

Selkirk - August 28th, 2006

2006-08-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

An energetic crew of 4 was kept busy this morning at Selkirk.

Banded: BLJA 3, BCCH 1, REVI 3, TEWA 1, MAWA 23, BTNW 1, MYWA 4, BTBW 1, BLPW 2, BAWW 3, AMRE 7, OVEN 5, NOWA 1, MOWA 3, NOCA 3, SOSP 6, AMGO 2 = 69

John

Ruthven - August 24th and 26th, 2006

2006-08-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

Two very different days. The 24th was overcast with light northerly winds - which, one would think, woiuld make for good banding. However, it was quiet along the edges. The only sign of migration was the swallows winging high over the river and river flats. There were a couple of warbler species around as well - the forerunners of the hordes to come (Ihope): Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, and Canada Warbler. The rate of capture was 48 birds per 100 net hours.

On the 26th there was a mix of sun and cloud and light easterly winds (easterly winds seem to bring "big" days to Ruthven). You could almost feel the Zugunruhe, "migratory restlessness" - there was lots of movement along both "corridors": the #10, 2, 4 corridor and the #9, 8 corridor. Swallows were about. And several large flocks (I conservatively estimated 1500) of Common Grackles moved around the area. Today I banded 9 species of warblers - it's always exciting when they're on the move; you just don't know what might turn up in your nets. The rate of capture today was 79 birds per 100 net hours.

August 24 - Banded 24 (14 spp): 1 HAWO, 1 YBFL, 2 TRFL, 1 BCCH, 3 BGGN, 1 AMRO, 1 GRCA, 1 CSWA, 2 MAWA, 1 CAWA, 2 RBGR, 1 SOSP, 1 BAOR, 6 AMGO.

Retrapped 10: 2 DOWO, 4 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 1 GRCA, 2 COYE.

August 26 - Banded 72( 26 spp): 3 EAWP, 2 YBFL, 2 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 1 HOWR, 1 BGGN, 1 VEER, 2 AMRO, 1 CEDW, 5 WAVI, 6 REVI, 1 NAWA, 3 CSWA, 10 MAWA, 1 AMRE, 1 OVEN, 3 NOWA, 3 COYE, 2 WIWA, 1 CAWA, 2 NOCA, 1 RBGR, 2 CHSP, 3 SOSP, 2 COGR, 12 AMGO.

Retrapped 13: 1 DOWO, 1 TRFL, 4 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 1 BGGN, 1 AMRO, 1 GRCA, 1 SOSP, 1 HOFI, 1 AMGO.

Selkirk - August 26th, 2006

2006-08-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

John Dickie and crew had a good day today at Selkirk.

Banded:
MODO 5, TRFL 2, LEFL 2, OSFL 1, BLJA 1, GRCA 1, REVI 1, TEWA 2, CSWA 1, MAWA 13, MYWA 2, BAWW 5, AMRE 3, OVEN 1, NOWA 1, CAWA 1, SOSP 5, BAOR 1, AMGO 6 = 54

John

Selkirk - August 13th, 2006

2006-08-14T07:06:00.001-07:00

A bit more around on the 13th than on the 12th.

Banded: TRFL 2, LEFL 1, HOWR 1, GRCA 1, CEDW 2, BLBW 1, CHSP 1, SOSP 8, BAOR 1, AMGO 4 = 22

Due to health problems Selkirk will not be operating on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. Operation will be entirely dependable on volunteer help with yours truly supervising only. The 20 minute walk in has become a trudge of 40-60 minutes. For nearly the past month I have had an ongoing upset stomach. Just sitting I sweat in the chest and throat area so I must have a fever.

At times I cough so hard I see stars. Saturday I blanked out during one such session, took a hard tumble, bruised my knee and may now have water on the knee. I have developed a good case of poison ivy on my legs that is not responding to normal medical treatment. To top it all off I am teething of all crazy things and have a sore and scratched tongue from the sharp edge of the new tooth which makes swallowing painful.

Over all I find I just do not want to move when sitting.

John

Selkirk - August 12th, 2006

2006-08-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Back on line after being down for a week. However being closed 5 days in there means not too much has gone unreported. Had a great time during the week at Haliburton. Spent nearly 1/2 the time in the local garages due to various auto problems. Ended up driving home with a patched rad hose which let go completely near Newmarket. Then it was fill the rad every 30-50 km. Great fun!

The 12th was a quiet day at Selkirk. Nothing compared to the 200+ banding days reported last week in NE. Ontario. Even Toronto Island had a good drop of Warblers today, around 15 species.

Banded: DOWO 1, HOWR 2, GRCA 1, CEDW 1, LAWA 1, (only Selkirk's 3rd ever, an HY F), OVEN 1, AMGO 3 = 10.

John

Ruthven - August 6th and 7th, 2006

2006-08-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

Bird activity at Ruthven has certainly slowed down as compared to the middle/end of July. The young birds, that were so noticeable following their parents around, begging for handouts, have pretty well dispersed and the adults tend to be lying low while they moult. Of the Yellow Warblers handled (banded and retrapped) these past two days, a majority were adults - all were either finishing or had just finished moulting their flight feathers. There were in fact few Yellow Warblers to be seen - the ones in the nets were sort of a surprise.

There seems to be a "fresh" batch of young Song Sparrows about. Perhaps a second brood? At one point I saw a group of 8 in the parking area close to net #2. Ten minutes later I had 6 of them in the net. Any adult Song Sparrows netted so far have not shown sign of moulting.

AND....the Ruthven AMGO (AMerican GOldfinch) factory is just starting to rev up: banded the first two HY birds of the season today. The harbingers of the hordes to come.

August 6th:
Banded 16: 1 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 2 HOWR, 1 GRCA, 4 YWAR, 1 NOCA, 1 CHSP, 3 SOSP, 1 BAOR, 1 AMGO.

Retrapped 16: 1 MODO, 2 DOWO, 2 BCCH, 2 GRCA, 2 YWAR, 2 COYE, 1 RBGR, 1 SOSP, 3 AMGO.

August 7th:
Banded 26: 1 GCFL, 2 BGGN, 1 GRCA, 3 YWAR, 1 NOCA, 1 RBGR, 11 SOSP, 1 HOFI, 5 AMGO.

Retrapped 13: 1 DOWO, 1 BCCH, 1 REVI, 4 YWAR, 1 NOCA, 1 SOSP, 3 AMGO.

Rick

Sparrow Aviation Administration Blames Collision On Failure To Detect Pane Of Glass

2006-08-03T04:12:00.000-07:00

Go read this breaking news from The Onion, America's finest news source.

Selkirk Updates

2006-08-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

August 1st, 2006

For the second day in a row HHH and very few new birds in the banding area. Wednesday morning's forecast is not much better with t-storms possible by mid day. Consequently it is not worth it to swelter for 6-8 hours for 4-6 birds. I will be home working on Selkirk's spring report.

Selkirk also will not be open Aug 8 to 10 inclusive. I have an invite for a few days of R & R in the northern woods.

Banded Aug. 1st: TRFL 1, CEDW 1, YWAR 1, AMGO 1 = 4

Selkirk's top 10 for July

Yellow Warbler 86
Gray Catbird 55
Song Sparrow 48
Cedar Waxwing 43
American Robin 40
Black-capped Chickadee 28
Baltimore Oriole 27
Common Yellowthroat 22
American Goldfinch 18
Downy Woodpecker 18

July 31st, 2006

Closed out July today with perhaps the poorest day of the month.

Banded: MODO 1, GRCA 1, YWAR 2, SOSP 1, AMGO 1 = 6

This brings the July total up to 487 which I believe is Selkirk's best July.

July 30th, 2006

Another prety decent July day at Selkirk:

Banded: MODO 1, YBFL 1, BCCH 1, HOWR 2, GRCA 5, CEDW 5, YWAR 2, NOCA 1, RBGR 2, INBU 1, SOSP 1, AMGO 1 = 23

John Dickie had an adult Mississippi Kite at the "tip" on census.

July 29th, 2006

Banded: BBCU 1, LEFL 1, AMRO 1, GRCA 5, CEDW 1, YWAR 1, RBGR 1, SOSP 3 = 14

John

July 30th, 2006

2006-07-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Another hot, humid day. Again, it started early. There did not seem to be nearly as many birds around today as yesterday. Given the mostly clear skies and no wind last night I'm sure that many took advantage of the conditions to move on.

Banded 32: 4 MODO, 2 WBNU, 2 HOWR, 1 GRCA, 1 REVI, 10 YWAR, 1 COYE, 4 RBGR, 2 CHSP, 2 SOSP, 3 AMGO.

Retrapped 10: 1 DOWO, 1 GRCA, 7 YWAR, 1 AMGO.

Rick

July 29th, 2006

2006-07-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Hot, humid weather continues to hammer the area. It was already 21 degrees and humid before opening the nets. Even so, there was quite a lot of bird activity along the edges. At least until the sun got up and the temperature rose to 28+ (by 10:00 standard time). I handled another large number of Yellow Warblers, most of which were young birds. However, I did band/retrap 3 adults. All three were well into a complete moult involving flight feathers. I also banded an adult male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that was replacing flight feathers as well.

Banded 45: 1 TRFL, 1 HOWR, 1 BGGN, 1 AMRO, 3 GRCA, 1 GWWA (the 1st we've encountered this year - HY-F), 21 YWAR, 1 AMRE, 1 NOCA, 1 RBGR, 1 FISP, 6 SOSP, 1 BHCO, 5 AMGO.

Retrapped 7: 1 BCCH, 3 YWAR, 1 RBGR, 1 INBU, 1 AMGO.

Rick

July 27th, 2006

2006-07-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ruthven - MAPS banding

The penultimate session of MAPS banding started with the surrounding vegetation dripping with moisture (from evening rain mixed with bander sweat) and air humid enough to swim through. A patchy day for birds with quiet periods followed by fairly intense bursts of activity.

There did not appear to be any pattern to the numbers caught. One net would be full of birds, the others would be empty. Sometimes the full net was in deep forest, other times it would be on the edge. The bulk of the birds were caught well after dawn and the numbers continued until close (and bander heat prostration). May have caught more than 100 if the "normal" station nets were up, but it is hard to judge.

For fun the power was out for an hour or so (or perhaps less than a minute - it went out at 4:50am and came back at 4:50am... mind you, it was 4:50am when I opened and 4:50am when I closed too - our clock needs a date with a sledge hammer) which took our scales out of the equation briefly.

Banded 42: BWWA, BGGN 2, YWAR 24, BCCH, EAWP, REVI, INBU, YTVI, SOSP 2, RBGR 3, GRCA, BAOR 2, BHCO, NOCA

Retrapped 3: YWAR, BCCH, SOSP

B

July 26th, 2006

2006-07-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

Not nearly as much around today as there has been over the past few days. However there seems to still be more than I would have expected.

Banded: DOWO 1, BCCH 2, AMRO 1, GRCA 2, CEDW 4, YWAR 3, COYE 2, NOCA 1= 16

John

July 25th, 2006

2006-07-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

The movement of birds this summer through Selkirk continues.

Banded today: BCCH 1, AMRO 2, GRCA 3, CEDW 6, YWAR 11, RBGR 1, AMGO 2 = 26

John

July 24th, 2006

2006-07-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

The daily movement of birds into the banding area continues.

Banded: MODO 1, AMRO 6, GRCA 8, CEDW 4, YWAR 9, COYE 1, INBU 1, SOSP 3, BHCO 1, AMGO 3 = 37.

July 2006 is shapping up as the best July ever at Selkirk with over 400 birds banded so far.

On Friday I saw something I had not seen before. I released a retrapped Song Sparrow and it flew across the sedge marsh into the scrub. When the bird was about 20 feet out a Monarch Butterfly rose out of the grass and began chasing the sprrow in hot pursuit in a power flight. The distance across the sedge marsh is about 200 ft. Both critters disappeared into the scrub. It appeared the butterfly was gaining on the sparrow. The butterfly was giving a good impression of a gyrfalcon in hunting mode. Has anyone ever seen this before with monarchs or other butterflies???

John

July 22nd, 2006

2006-07-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

It was threatening to rain at opening and began to do so while I was engaged in the census. As it was warm and the rain was light I decided to leave the nets open. I had a busy morning as there were a lot of birds around - mostly young birds begging from parents or, as in the case of Yellow Warblers, just moving through. There were a lot of Yellow Warblers around - banded 22 of them, all HY birds (Hatch Year or young). There was a lot of variety as well - 19 species banded.

Banded 47: 1 MODO, 1 YBCU, 2 DOWO, 1 EAWP, 2 BCCH, 1 BGGN, 1 AMRO, 3 GRCA, 1 BRTH,1 CEDW, 22 YWAR, 1 RBGR, 1 INBU, 1 SOSP, 1 COGR, 1 BHCO, 4 BAOR, 1 HOFI, 1 AMGO.

Retrapped 12: 3 DOWO, 4 BCCH, 1 YWAR, 2 RBGR, 2 AMGO.

66% of the birds netted today were from #2. A significant number of them were not "feeder birds". I think that they are attracted to the area by the activity of the birds that are using the feeders there. Sort of a giant "mixed species flock"(s) centered on the feeders.

Rick

July 21st, 2006

2006-07-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

New birds still continue to move into Selkirk daily, resulting in another decent day
Friday at Selkirk.

Banded: MODO 1, DOWO 1, BCCH 1, GRCA 1, CEDW 2, YWAR 2, OVEN 1, COYE 3, SOSP 5, RWBL 3, BAOR 3, AMGO 1 =24

John

July 20th, 2006

2006-07-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Renowned Blogmeister Jeff MacLeod was on the site today!
Moving on....There was a heavy fog at first light that took a couple of hours to dissipate. There was also a lot of birds that dissipated along with the fog. The birds tended to be mid- to upper storey and, except for the first round, weren't around the nets, or at least at net level. There was a 'pulse' of Yellow Warblers moving through - estimated that there were at least 35 around the site. Not much activity on the river - not even a Great Blue Heron. Just Cedar Waxwings hawking insects, flying out from perches to grab them above the river. Seem to be taking the place of swallows which are now in shorter supply.

Banded 29: 1 MODO, 1 (very young) YBCU, 1 DOWO, 1 WBNU, 2 HOWR, 1 AMRO, 4 GRCA, 1 REVI, 7 YWAR, 2 RBGR, 2 INBU, 1 SOSP, 3 BAOR, 1 OROR, 1 AMGO.

Retrapped 7: 2 DOWO, 1 GRCA, 1 YWAR, 1 RBGR, 1 SOSP, 1 BAOR.

Rick

Some pictures:

Black-eyed Susans are spreading throughout the Butterfly Meadow at Ruthven.

Black-eyed Susans seem to be popular with insects,as many have petals that look like these.

Rick asked for a picture of these pink flowers, and even told me their name. If only I could remember that name...

Rick told me the name of this flower too, and he will have to tell you as well (in the comments section). These are fairly common at Ruthven now.

An interesting little guy I encountered on a mist net. Do you know what it is, Brian?

Selkirk

For a HHH day birds were moving around in the banding area today.

Selkirk will be closed this coming Saturday and I am not sure about Sunday. It all depends upon when I get back home Saturday night/Sunday morning from my nephew's wedding near Wingham.

Banded today: DOWO 2, HOWR 2, AMRO 5, GRCA 6, YWAR 10, COYE 3, RBGR 2, RWBL 1, BAOR 3 = 38

John

July 19th banding at Selkirk & July 18th Ruthven MAPS banding

2006-07-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Selkirk - July 19th, 2006

John Dickie was out the same time I was and ran most of the banding and did census. The Logans appeared mid morning, Garry and Stacey mowed and weed wacked the banding net lanes and connecting trails.

Banding wise not as many birds as the past couple of days

Banded: DOWO 1, AMRO 1, GRCA 1 WAVI 1, YWAR 6, COYE 2, SOSP 1, COGR 1, BAOR 1, AMGO 1 = 16

John

Ruthven - MAPS banding - July 18th, 2006

The fifth session of MAPS banding commenced to the yipping of coyotes and the rustle of wings from the approximately 900 billion male Gypsy Moths flying all over the place. Also prevalent were White-Tailed Deer with at least 8 stamping and snorting through the back forest, blundering in to sundry vegetation and a mist net (which was thankfully closed). There were a few birds around too, but the moths and mammals seemed more prominant in biomass.

Banded 22: BWWA, BGGN, YWAR 5, BCCH 7, INBU, SOSP, DOWO 2, RBGR, GRCA 3,
Retrapped 6: GRCA 3, BCCH, SOSP 2

The BGGN was a young bird while the BWWA was an adult.

B

July 18th, 2006

2006-07-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

A little cooler today, although it was warm this afternoon when out in the sun.

A first positive sign of fall today in the banding area: A New England Aster was out in bloom.

Banding wise a pretty fair day.
Banded: MODO 1, DOWO 3, LEFL 1, BCCH 4, HOWR 1, AMRO 4, GRCA 1, YWAR 8, COYE 1, INBU 1, SWSP 1, RWBL 4, COGR 1, BHCO 2, BAOR 1= 34

John

July 17th, 2006

2006-07-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

An interesting day at Selkirk. A cool breeze off the lake kept the banding area down in the mid to high 20's c. not the 30+'s recorded elsewhere. (32oC = approx. 90oF).New birds continue to appear daily in the banding area. While some are certinally post breeding dispersals others like the YWAR's certainly are on the go. By about the end of July, which is not that far away, around 90% of the YWAR will be gone from Selkirk. I have seen at least one fall that I did not catch a YWAR to band in Selkirk after July 31st. This is going to be a bumper crop of white pine cones in Selkirk. Some pines are loaded and I guess that 1000's (10,000+?) will be falling this fall in and around the banding area. Also, I note that there is a good mirror crop of young cones forming that should produce a good crop next summer. Not the 1000's of this summer but certainally 100's. This did not occur a few years ago when the last bumper crop occurred. For the past 3-4 years the pine crop production in Selkirk has been next to none. Maybe a dozen cones in 2005.

Banding wise a decent day for mid July, banded: GCFL 1, BCCH 4, WBNU 1, WOTH 1, AMRO 2, GRCA 3, CEDW 1, WAVI 1, YWAR 6, COYE 2, RBGR 2, BAOR 2 = 26

FTD 253

John

July 16th, 2006

2006-07-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

A few new birds around early but once the heat of the day hit shortly after 11 am it died and we closed early.

Banded: DOWO 1, GRCA 1, CEDW 1, YWAR 5, COYE 1, RBGR 1, SOSP 1, BAOR 1, = 12

John

July 15th, 2006

2006-07-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

With an over night rain and a forecast of not clearing until about noon I was not too ambitious on heading out early this morning. Finally left for the park at 7 am and was back to the banding lab by 8 am and operational by 8:45. The heat of the day rolled in around noon and I closed early. Still managed to band a reasonable number of birds that was better than the usual average for this time of the year.

Banded: MODO 1, GRCA 3, YWAR 2, SOSP 5, RWBL 1, BAOR 2 = 14

John

July 14th, 2006

2006-07-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Spent a few hours banding this morning before the heat of the day got to a point that birds in the nets would be stressed if there for any length of time. Seem to be lots of birds in "family groups" - an adult with at least one or two. Orioles were especially conspicuous - there were two groupings of Orchard Orioles; 4 or 5 young making begging calls around an adult. Same with several groupings of Baltimore (Norhtern) Orioles. Young Song Sparrows are also accompanied by an adult - I netted one young bird and while I was extracting it an adult flew into the net close by anxious at its distress calls. Young Yellow Warblers seem to be on their own now though.

Banded 18: 1 DOWO, 3 BCCH, 1 AMRO, 2 GRCA, 5 YWAR, 1 NOCA, 3 SOSP, 2 AMGO.

Retrapped 2: 1 SOSP, 1 AMGO.

Rick

Selkirk

New birds continue to move through Selkirk every morning. Again another decent day. I forgot to bring home the log book but from memory the following are the birds banded (at least the total is correct)

Banded: MODO 1, DOWO 1, LEFL 1, EAPH 1, BCCH 2, AMRO 3, WAVI 2, YWAR 5, COYE 1, NOCA 1, RBGR 1, SOSP 3, SWSP 1,BHCO 1, AMGO 1 = 25

John

July 13th, 2006

2006-07-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

"Decent" days continue at Selkirk.

Banded today: DOWO 1,BCCH 2, AMRO 2, GRCA 6, BRTH 1, CEDW 4, YWAR 4, RBGR 2, SOSP 4, RWBL 1, BHCO 1, AMGO 1 = 29

The Great St. Johnswort is in full bloom. Under the hawthorns a sign of fall is the litter on the ground of newly fallen leaves. The lance leaf goldenrod is coming out into bud. The cone crop on the white pines is rapidly maturing with the heavy ladden branches hanging down. The maturing crop this year in Selkirk should run into 1000's of cones. There appears to be a good number of little pine cones formed on some trees that will be next year's cone crop. White pines cones in case you are not aware of it take 2 years to mature. The young cones overwinter as small dark minature cones in this year's growth.

John

July 11th, 2006

2006-07-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

It was a beautiful early morning at Ruthven. There was a lot of bird activity along the edges - which didn't ease even as the sun got up and the day warmed. There are a lot of young birds fledging (especially Yellow Warblers and Song Sparrows) while some species are still defending territories (Indigo Buntings for example). All the American Goldfinches handled today were adults - no young have fledged yet.

I ended up handling 74 birds.

Banded 59: 1 MODO, 3 BCCH, 3 AMRO, 4 GRCA, 18 YWAR, 3 RBGR, 1 INBU, 9 SOSP, 1 BAOR, 1 OROR, 1 HOFI, 14 AMGO.

Retrapped 15: 1 SSHA, 1 AMRO, 1 GRCA, 1 REVI, 2 YWAR, 1 INBU, 1 CHSP, 1 SOSP, 1 BHCO,
5 AMGO.

Some of the retraps were interesting:
AMGO - banded October 2004
AMGO - banded September 2004
CHSP - July 2001
YWAR - July 2000
REVI - June 2004
SOSP - October 2003
SSHA - April 2006

Only had about half the nets open as the others are being used in the MAPS program. The nets used were: # 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9.

Rick

Bander Brian Pomfret moonlights as an exotic dancer in Toronto. Here he is seen with his interpretation of "Dance of the Faeries". Alcohol, a very great deal of alcohol, evidently enhances the appreciation of his performances.

Selkirk

Another decent July day at Selkirk today.

Banded: MODO 1, DOWO 2, BCCH 2, HOWR 1, AMRO 1, GRCA 1, CEDW 1, YWAR 2, RBGR 2, SOSP 1, RWBL 5, BHCO 2, AMGO 3 = 24

Selkirk has operated for 5 of the past 6 days and banded 147 birds. Most Augusts and a lot of Septembers Selkirk is hard pressed to band 300 birds for the entire month. Not sure what this good start means but most likely the wheel will fall off shortly and the day's banding totals will be back to between 5 & 10 birds per day.

Tomorrow morning's weather forecast is not promising so it could be a rain out morning.

John

July 9th, 2006

2006-07-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

The day started off slow and it looked like slim pickens up to noon. However a mixed flock of birds obviously moved into the banding area as over 2/3 of the birds banded for the day were extracted while closing the nets.

Banded: DOWO 2, NRWS 1, BCCH 2, HOWR 1, AMRO 4, GRCA 1, CEDW 1, YWAR 7, SOSP 1, RWBL 1, BHCO 2, BAOR 5, AMGO 1 = 29.

The station will not be open Monday due to the weather, the need to get spring reports done plus sore hips and back. The station just does not need the down time experienced late last August and early September.

John

Rick's Arctic Sojourn

2006-07-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just recently returned from Southampton Island - at the northern end of Hudson Bay. I spent 3 1/2 weeks working on a project at East Bay Island, the largest Common Eider colony in the Canadian Arctic with ~5,000 breeding pairs. We caught and banded 500 birds (mostly COEI's but also a few King Eiders). To catch them we strung salmon fishing nets, 100 m. long, on a cable strung between two 10 m. poles. As well as an aluminum band, we also attached coloured Darvic bands with numbers/letters on them for identification in coming years. As well, the females were afixed with coloured nasal tags so they could be monitored throughout this breeding season. [They sit continuously on their eggs except for a brief sojourn to the central pond for a drink.] These nasal tags are attached with a UV sensitive filament that will disintegrate, releasing the tags, by the end of the breeding season.

I spent one glorious day in a helicopter investigating the NE coast of Southampton Island, some large islands just north of it (White & Vansittart Islands), and Lyon Inlet on the Melville Peninsula looking for gull colonies (made up mostly of Thayer's Gulls with a few Glaucous Gulls).

I have included a few pictures to give you an idea of the country.

Rick

East Bay Island, Southampton Island, from the air - site of the largest Common Eider colony in the Canadian Arctic.

Salmon net, used for catching eiders.

Midnight in East Bay.

3AM, time to get up for banding.

Topography of the mainland of Southampton Island in the area of East Bay - excellent habitat for shorebirds, Sabine's Gulls, Arctic Terns, Red-throated and Pacific Loons.

The rugged NE coast of South Hampton Island.

Thayer's Gull habitat.

Lyon Inlet

Interior of the kitchen/dining tent. Note the propane stove.

Start of break-up.

Polar Bear - it was stalking 2 caribou that had wandered out on a spit of land sticking out into the ocean.

Pacific Loon - agitated by our closeness to its nest.

Sylvia Grinnell River and Park - just outside of Iqualuit. Rocky areas were home to Northern Wheatears.

Sylvia Grinnell River - above the falls.

July 8th, 2006

2006-07-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

Another fairly decent day at Selkirk today as the post breeding dispursal seems in high gear.
The Great St. Johnswort is showing a lot of colour in the buds and should be open in another day or two. The Michigan Lilly in the woods seems to be at its peak bloom.

Banded: MODO 1, DOWO 2, YSFL 1, NRWS 1, AMRO 1, GRCA 1, CEDW 3, YWAR 1, SOSP 7, COGR 2, BHCO 2, AMGO 1 = 23

John

Ruthven - Forest Bird Monitoring Program

Spent the early morning back in the Slough Forest doing the Forest Bird Monitoring Program point count. I was struck by the large number of Veerys I encountered - at least 11 spread through the 5 points.

I then ventured over to the banding area at Ruthven to see what was happening. I couldn't help but open a couple of nets to see what birds were around. In just 1 hour of net time (with nets 1, 2, 5 and 7 open), I captured 15 birds.

Banded 14: 3 GRCA, 4 YWAR, 3 RBGR, 2 SOSP, 2 AMGO.
Retrapped 1: 1 YWAR

Had notice from the Banding Office that an AMGO retrapped by us in April of this year had been banded last November at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory.

July 7th, 2006

2006-07-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

Not as much activity as yesterday but still a pretty decent day for this time of the year.

Banded: MODO 1, DOWO 1, TRFL 1, BCCH 1, AMRO 3, GRCA 3, CEDW 1, YWAR 3, SOSP 4, BHCO 1, BAOR 7 = 26.

John

Ruthven - MAPS banding results - actually occurred July 6th, 2006

The fourth session of MAPS banding took place on July 6th. In a complete contrast to Selkirk not much was moving around and very little birdlife was evident.

Even the mosquitoes were lethargic.

Banded 13: COYE, EAWP, YWAR, BCCH, CEDW, SOSP, WBNU 2, RBGR 2, GRCA 2, AMRO
Retrapped 1: yes, 1! GRCA (usually there are scads)

First fledged YWAR (for Ruthven) of the season was banded.

B

Autumn already?

2006-07-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Selkirk - July 6th, 2006

Started up Selkirk today for the fall sesson. When opening it was discovered that the top 4 trammel shelf strings were cut/chewed about 3 inches from the loops on one net. It took close to 2 hours restringing the trammel lines and spicing pieces to fit. It appears either a squirrel or a mouse may have been after nesting material. Never the less a real pain to start the season off with.

Banding wise a bit of a surprise, have 15 retraps and banded the following: MODO 1, BCCH 6, HOWR 1, VEER 1, AMRO 4, GRCA 3, BRTH 1, CEDW 5, YWAR 2, COYE 1, NOCA 2, RBGR 2, INBU 1, SOSP 9, SWSP 1, COGR 1, BAOR 2, AMGO 2 = 45

The Veery is the first encountered in the park during the nesting season over the 9 summers banding has taken place. The same could be said for a MYWA singing as if on territory south of the banding trailer. MYWA occassionally show up very late in July but these appear to be birds that are moving around while in the process of molting.

John

Ruthven - MAPS banding report June 26, 2006

2006-06-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Under an overcast sky the third MAPS banding session was undertaken on June 26th at Ruthven. The threat of precipitation was in the air, as too were vast quantities of falling caterpillar poop and leaf debris from the tent caterpillar infestation that has blighted the local forest. The cuckoos seemed to be having an easy time of finding food however.

Banded 21: BWWA, BCCH 2, YWAR 3, REVI 2, SOSP, DOWO, GRCA 4, BHCO, RBGR 2, YBCU, AMRO, RBWO, MODO

Retrapped 12: REVI 2, GRCA 3, RBGR 2, NOCA, BAOR, YWAR 2, SOSP

The most enchanting capture of the day however could not be banded as the bird in question was too small. A young Mourning Dove, flying on more prayer than wing, was captured in Net 10. Endowed with a gormless innocence, it decided that the whole experience of being captured could be improved with a better view. He then promptly walked up my arm and perched on my shoulder...only becoming disgruntled when I evicted him (don't think he was potty trained). Perhaps he mistook me for a pirate. Polly want cracked corn? Just doesn't fly....

First fledged Black-capped Chickadee of the season.

B

Selkirk Spring Banding Report

2006-06-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

The Selkirk Provincial Park field station of the Haldimand Bird Observatory had its best spring in the 11 springs the station has been in operation. The station was in operation from late February until June 11th most days depending upon the weather.

A total of 2721 birds were banded of 82 species plus 1 form.

The 11 year average is 2007 birds banded per spring of 78 species.
The station uses 20 warbler nets, 1 jay-trap and up to 4 ground traps. Coverage was consistent with that of prior years.

Birds banded in AOU no. order

Mourning Dove 39
Eastern Screech-owl 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Yellow-shafted Flicker 4
Great-crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 7
Eastern Wood Pewee 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 4
Traill's Flycatcher 20
Least Flycatcher 12
Blue Jay 13
European Starling 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 36
Red-winged Blackbird 37
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 10
Common Grackle 22
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 141 (new banding season high)
Savannah Sparrow 6 (new banding season high)
E. White-crowned Sparrow 46
Gamble's W-C. Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 394 (new banding season high)
American Tree Sparrow 75 (new banding season high)
Chipping Sparrow 13 (ties previous best banding season)
Field Sparrow 8
Slate-colored Junco 121
Song Sparrow 104
Lincoln's Sparrow 50
Swamp Sparrow 34
Fox Sparrow 5
Eastern Towhee 2
Northern Cardinal 12
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 12
Indigo Bunting 6
Scarlet Tanager 1
Tree Swallow 57 (new banding season high)
N. Rough-winged Swallow 3 (new banding season high)
Cedar Waxwing 39 (New spring high)
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue-headed Vireo 5
Black-and-white Warbler 8
Nashville Warbler 30
Orange-crowned Warbler 2 (ties previous spring high)
Tennessee Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 64
Black-thr. Blue Warbler 8
Myrtle Warbler 69
Magnolia Warbler 82
Chestnut-sided Warbler 4
Blackpoll Warbler 3 (new spring high)
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Black-thr. Green Warbler 5
Pine Warbler 2
w. Palm Warbler 19
Ovenbird 57
Northern Waterthrush 1
Mourning Warbler 5
Common Yellowthroat 35
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Hooded Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 11
Canada Warbler 9
American Redstart 10
Gray Catbird 72
Brown Thrasher 7
House Wren 24
Winter Wren 20
Brown Creeper 26
White-breasted Nuthatch 4 (new spring high)
Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
E. Tufted Titmouse 1
Black-capped Chickadee 23 (new spring high)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 242
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 244
Wood Thrush 14
Veery 27
Gray-cheeked Thrush 6
Swainson"s Thrush 28
Hermit Thrush 134
American Robin 63
Eastern Bluebird 1

John Miles
Bander-in-charge

Ruthven MAPS banding - June 16th, 2006

2006-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

The second session of MAPS banding took place this morning. Under a near full moon surrounded by a corona (no, not the beer) the morning started somewhat chilly with the temperature at opening recorded as 8C. There was very little movement for the first couple of net runs but once the temperatures warmed up a few birds and scads of mosquitoes made their appearances.

A proud family group consisting of a male and female RBGR made an appearance in one of the nets along with their bouncing baby Brown-headed Cowbird.... and the first fledged Song Sparrow was also banded.

Banded 13: AMGO, YWAR 2, REVI 2, SOSP, GRCA 2, RBGR 2, BHCO, BAOR, AMRO
Retrapped 12: GRCA 3, BHCO, YWAR 3, RBGR, SOSP, REVI, AMRO, COYE

B

Selkirk - June 9th, 10th, and the spring banding season's final day, the 11th

2006-06-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

June 11th

Packed it in today for the spring season after the best spring at Selkirk. Unofficially 2667 birds were banded at the station which exceeded the previous best spring total of 2630. The nest box bandings up to June 15th are still to be incorporated into the above total plus any adjustments once the bandmanager inputting is checked.

Closed today out with a bit of a flourish. Banded: GRCA 1, CEDW 1, SOSP 2, SWSP 1, COGR 3, AMGO 2 = 10.

Unofficially Selkirk's top birds banded with 40 or more bandings are
WTSP 394
RCKI 244
GCKI 242
AMGO 141
HETH 134
SCJU 121
SOSP 104
MAWA 82
ATSP 75
GRCA 72
MYWA 69
YWAR 64
AMRO 62
OVEN 57
LISP 50
EWCS 46

John

June 10th

A typical day for this time of the year. Not much around in the banding nets. Of note a mother Wood Duck and a brood of about 1/2 dozen young about 1/4 the size of the mother were under the foot bridge on the way in.

Kudos to John Woodcock and his crew at Thunder Cape this morning for catching and banding most likely the first ever Green-tailed Towhee to be banded in Ontario. This is a rare bird in Ontario usually appears at feeders in the winter about once a decade but in the middle of the boreal forest in breeding season is something else. Thunder Cape over the years has had an impression list of rare and or unusual species show up often 100's if not 1000's of miles out of the species normal range.

Banded: AMRO 1, GRCA 1, COGR 2, BHCO 1, AMGO 1 = 6

John

June 9th

Another "summer" type banding day, a few birds with a surprise thrown in.

Banded: NRWS 1, YWAR 2, COGR 1, AMGO 4 = 8

The spring session at the Selkirk station will finish Sunday June 11th. The fall session will commence on or about July 10th.

Yours truly will be leading OFO trips, June 17 to the Long Pt area and June 24 & 25 to the Bruce, check the OFO web page for times and meeting spots.

John

June 7th, 2006

2006-06-08T03:53:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

There was a buzz in the air as the first MAPS session was conducted at Ruthven this morning. The MAPS (monitoring avian productivity and survival) project has been conducted at Ruthven since 2004 and gives an indication of what species are breeding around the area, particularly in the slough forest. On occasion there can be surprising results such as the MOWAs encountered in both previous years, and the juvenile BRCR that was found in 2005.

The buzz today? Only the mosquitoes descending en masse on the poor hapless banding flunkies.....

Banded 8: AMGO, YWAR, EAWP, COYE, INBU, REVI, GRCA, BAOR

Retrapped 7: COYE, AMGO, YWAR 2, YBCU, AMRO, SOSP

The YBCU was banded during last year's MAPS banding and hadn't been encountered since.

B

Selkirk

An almost typical mid summer day at Selkirk, a few local birds and the odd almost unexpected migrant to keep things interesting.

Banded: MODO 1, GCFL 1, SWTH 1, COYE 1, AMGO 3 = 6

Provided the running total in the log book is correct Selkirk's spring total now stands at 2632 birds banded which exceeds Selkirk's previous best spring of 2630. This total does not include the dozen to a score of nestlings banded in the bird boxes in the park. All nestings banded up to June 15th will form part of Selkirk's spring totals while those banded after June 15th will be included with the fall totals.

Speaking of fall coverage, that should commence within about 30 days and we have not finished the spring coverage!!!!

John

Selkirk, June 6th, 2006

2006-06-07T04:11:00.000-07:00

A few migrants continue to trickle through resulting in a little better day than yesterday.

Banded: TRFL 1 (Willow), GRCA 1, YWAR 3, AMGO 3 = 8

T- 5 and still counting

John

Selkirk, June 4th and 5th

2006-06-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

June 5th

A very slow banding day today although a few migrants were in the area but did not enter the banding nets. Migrants noted included Black-throated Blue and Mourning Warbler. Several Eastern Kingbirds appeared today as well as Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos.

Banded: MODO 1, SOSP 1, AMGO 1 =3

John

June 4th

A much better day today compared to yesterday. Also a Giant Swallowtail flew by the banding lab.

Banded: MODO 2, TRFL 1,(Willow), GRCA 2, NOCA 1, BHCO 1, AMGO 3 = 10

STD 2615

T-16 and still counting.

John

Selkirk, June 2nd and 3rd

2006-06-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

June 3rd

Very little in the way of new birds in the banding area. Resident birds singing high defending territory although a few were retrapped. It looked like I would be skunked but a couple of new birds appeared in the nets late in the morning.

Banded: RBGR 2

John

June 2nd

Another quiet day at Selkirk with just the odd migrant appearing in the nets.

Banded: TRFL 2, GCTH 1, AMRO 1, CAWA 1, SOSP 2, SWSP 2, AMGO 2 = 11

T - 28 and still counting

John

May 31st, 2006 - End of spring migration monitoring at Ruthven

2006-06-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

HOwdy:
This marked the last day of Spring migration monitoring at Ruthven Park. Now we realize that birds will continue to trickle through for the next 2 weeks or so but.....we have other things to do. As it stands we had a VERY successful Spring season setting a new record for the most birds banded : 1,482. The previous record was 1,407.

We will now switch to our "summer" banding protocol - MAPS banding is done once in every 10-day period starting in June. If you are interested, contact Brian Pomfret (bpomfret(at)bfree.on.ca) to see when he is going to do it. Then, toward the middle of July we start to band whenever we get the chance in order to capture and mark the newly fledging young. If you are interested in this, you contact Rick Ludkin (rludkin(at)hotmail.com) to find out when it will be going on. We use different nets for the two different banding regimes so as not to confuse the data collection.

I would like to thank everyone that helped out and Jeff MacLeod for creating the HBO blog that everyone seemed to find so entertaining.

Rick

Ruthven

A retrapped Common Yellowthroat prevented me from being skunked on my first net round (usually the biggest round) this morning. The heat has brought the spring migration at Ruthven to an end. The number of species on census is way down from a week ago. Most of the birds I handled today were clearly breeding locally.

Banded today (3): GCFL, NOCA, SOSP.

Retrapped (8): PHVI, COYE, BWWA, YWAR, SOSP.

Loretta

Selkirk

A decent assortment on first run this morning but then it died. Slim pickings for the rest of the morning.

Banded: TRFL 1, GCTH 1, GRCA 3, CEDW 1, MAWA 1, COYE 1, LISP 2 = 10

T-39 and counting.

May was a productive month with 1192 birds banded.

Selkirk will be closed June 1st, but will be open on the 2nd for about 10 more days. It definitely will close June 15 for the spring season, if not before.

John

May 30th, 2006

2006-06-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

There seemed to be more song and movement in the hedge row early than yesterday. But it soon quieted down as the heat of the day increased. A Connecticut was singing south of the neeting area early. Not a great May banding day but a couple of good birds never the less.

Banded: HOWR 1, GCTH 1, SWTH 2, GRCA 2, CEDW 1, YWAR 1, MAWA 2, COYE 1, YBCH 1 (1st since '02), INBU 1, SOSP 1, LISP 1, BAOR 1 = 16

T- 49 and counting.

John

Ruthven

Yesterday, Brian and I banded. We only opened some of the nets: we left # 10, 4 and 6 closed as we are going to use them for the MAPS banding which will start in about 1 week.

Banded 11: 2 TRFL, 2 GRCA, 1 PHVI, 3 YWAR, 1 AMRE, 1 NOCA, 1 BHCO.

Retrapped 7: 1 BCCH, 4 YWAR, 1 SOSP, 1 BHCO.

Rick

May 29th, 2006

2006-05-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

I trundled in just after dawn and opened a few nets - #'s 2,4,6 and 10. Didn't get much (NOWA, REVI, 2 TRFL, and a GRCA). It got hot really quickly which stifled movement. Mine if not so much the birds. Lots of cuckoos (both flavours) about.

I found a dead nestling Eastern Bluebird by the cemetery this afternoon. It looked big enough to fledge. Not sure what got it.

Liz will be in early (well, for her) to cut the River Trail tomorrow before we get shut down due to heat, humidity and air quality warnings. I'll see what I can do with the net lanes. Probably not much.

I'm in Burlington this week and won't be back on the computer here until Friday night.

Oh, 11 ticks today. Seems like a banner year for them.

B

Selkirk

When opening this morning there was a complete lack of migrants singing and no visible movement of passerines in the hedge rows. A complete reversal from yesterday. The first 2 net rounds yielded very little but as the morning wore on a few birds kept appearing in the nets so by close down it had been another decent day.

A Great Egret was seen flying up Spring Creek.

Banded: YBFL 2, TRFL 3 (3 WILLOW), GCTH 2, SWTH 5, GRCA 2, REVI 1, MAWA 1, BLPW 1, OVEN 1, COYE 2, WIWA 1, INBU 1, RWBL 2, COGR 1= 26

Selkirk will be closed Thursday June 1st, I have an 8:30 am dental appointment in Hamilton to fix a problem that occured earlier in May.

T- 65 and counting.

John

May 28th, 2006

2006-05-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

It was nice to have lots of birding visitors spending the day in the park. The Niagara Falls Naturalist Club, (led by Rick Young) were treated to a Yellow-billed Cuckoo up close and personal, that Jim Biggar pulled out of the net for them to goo and gaw over. There were several Cuckoo's in the park this morning, both Yellow-billed, and Black-billed, calling from
several locations.

We banded a variety of flycatchers (4), and it was nice to do the comparisons between them.

Banded 24, as follows: 1 BRWA, 1 YBCU, 1 EAWP, 2 YBFL, 1 TRFL, 1 LEFL, 1 SWTH, 3 GRCA, 4 CEDW, 1 REVI, 4 YWAR, 2 COYE, 1 RWBL, 1 COGR, and, a season first for me, ZERO AMGO's.

Fewer retraps today (maybe because the station was closed yesterday), only 8: 1 BRWA, 1 GRCA, 1 REVI, 3 YWAR, 1 BHCO, 1 AMGO.

The 2 Brewster's Warblers, one male retrap, and one unbanded female were found in the same net (#4, where he has been singing (snoring) daily for a month. I was happy to see that he finally found a mate, or at least a female to chase!!)

Loretta

Selkirk

A few warblers and the odd flycatcher could be heard when opening the nets this morning but not much movement could be detected in the hedge rows.

A handful of birds were caught on each net run but no influx to indicate there was much around. However the birds continued to filter through the banding area until close down.
When all the banding totals were tabulated it had been a good day.

Banded: TRFL 7 (4 ALDER, 1 WILLOW), TRES 1, BCCH 1, SWTH 7, GRCA 5, YWAR 1, MAWA 4, BLPW 2, BAWW 1, AMRE 4, OVEN 1, MOWA 3, COYE 9, WIWA 3, CAWA 2, RWBL 1, COGR 1, AMGO 1 = 54

STD 2540 (So far Selkirk's 2nd best spring)

John

May 27th, 2006

2006-05-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Selkirk

A fairly quiet day with just a few new birds filtering through the pines. Variety but no numbers. Barely a decent banding day.

Banded: YBFL 1, TRFL 1 (ALFY), SWTH 1, AMRO 2, GRCA 2, YWAR 3, MAWA 2, BTBW 1, OVEN 1, MOWA 1, COYE 1, RBGR 1, LISP 2, COGR 1, BAOR 1, AMGO 1 = 22

Of note, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was calling in the hardwoods on the way in.

John

No banding took place at Ruthven today.

May 26th, 2006

2006-05-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

Please note: No banding will take place at Ruthven tomorrow. However, Brian will be hosting a nature walk starting at 7:30AM (bring your rubber boots).

Selkirk - Baillie Birdathon and Banding Report

As advised earlier, Selkirk was closed May 25th as we were doing the Baillie Birdathon. George Pond met me at my place at 4 am and we proceeded toward John Dickie's place picking up our first bird, an Eastern Screech-owl at the usual spot on the 5th concession of Walpole. John Dickie was my 2nd spotter this year and on his first big day.

18 hours and 325 km later all in Haldimand I arrived back home.

It was tough sledding as there were very few small migrant birds where ever we stopped other than Yellow Warblers which were everywhere.

The Brooks Rd. was again dependable for Am. Woodcock and Whip-poor-will. Several singing Blue-winged Warblers were in the area. Ruthven was a bit of a disappointment as the small drop they received had not made an appearance by the time we moved on.

Along the Haldimand road No. 1 N E. of Cayuga a real surprise was a Worm-eating Warbler in a nice looking woodlot which was singing up a storm.

At Rock Point there were a few shorebirds. A nice surprise was an Iceland Gull picked up flying over the water towards Mohawk Island. Warbler wise it was Yellow Warblers and next to nothing else. Our only Black-throated Blue for the day was heard in the camp grounds.

A few shorebirds were seen heading west along the Lake Erie shoreline with Whimbrel being the main interest. 3 flocks totaling nearly 200 birds were seen.

Waterfowl were in short supply with a Redhead west of Featherstone Pt. the best duck found along the lake.

Selkirk was also dead with very few land birds in evidence. We did manage to add 4 warbler species here but it was one of this and one of that. Certainally no indication I missed a good banding day doing the birdathon.

Townsend Sewage Lagoons produced some waterfowl and a couple of new shorebirds. We did not located the good shorebirds reported earlier in the day but did manage to have a White-rumpted Sandpiper fly into just in front of us.

At the Jarvis Sewage Lagoons we found a Pintail for our 7th puddle duck and 12 duck species overall for the day. Very poor numbers of duck species this year.

We headed over to the Drag Strip where John Dickie had had 8 Short-eared Owls a week ago but there was nothing there. Perhaps they had dispursed before we got there or were in a different location.

I ended up with 123 species of the 124 recorded by the group.

With the rain this morning I caught up on my sleep after the preceeding short night and ventured out shortly after 11 am as sometimes there can be a good number of birds after an early morning rain. The banding area was dead and with the rain reoccuring until shortly after 1 pm I did not open the nets. I did catch and band a Red-winged Blackbird in a ground trap so Selkirk was officially open today for an hour or two.

John

Here is the HBO Baillie Bird-a-thon Team featuring John Miles flanked by George Pond (left) and John Dickie (right). George is the all-time money raiser for the Bird-a-thon.

Ruthven

The rain was a factor from opening till close up this morning, with intermittent showers. But that didn't dampen the spirits of the 56 junior kindergarteners that visited. And even though the rain forced us to close all but the two "feeder nets", we were able to produce at least one bird for each of the five groups of delighted youngsters.

So it was a busy morning, in that regard, but not so on the log sheets, with only 18 new entries.

Banded 2 EAWP, 1 WOTH, 2 GRCA, 1 CEDW, 2 REVI, 3 YWAR, 2 COYE, 1 INBU, 1, COGR, 2 BAOR, and 1 AMGO.

No remarkable retraps: (13): 1 DOWO, 2 BCCH, 1 WBNU, 4 YWAR, 1 COYE, 3 RBGR, 1 AMGO.

Many of the birds we handled today showed evidence of breeding, with very few migrants, I guess in part due to the rainy weather, and in part because the migration season is tapering off.

Please note, the banding station will be closed tomorrow, Saturday May 27th, but everyone is welcomed to join Brian on a Nature Walk around the property. The walk starts at 7:30 am, and leaves from the parking lot. The trails are once again muddy!

Loretta

Using photos from the morning of May 25th, Rick would like to provide our readers some incentive for getting up early in the morning and visiting Ruthven.

May 26th, 2006

2006-05-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Notice: No banding will take place at Ruthven tomorrow (Saturday, May 27th).

Check back later for today's banding reports.

May 25th, 2005

2006-05-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

I was only at the Ruthven Banding Station long enough to close (hmmm...how DID I get stuck with that?) but in that time there was a brief fallout of birds which included a number of seasonal firsts. Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Canada Warbler, & Scarlet Tanager finally made an appearance at the park, and Rick saw a Green Heron to top it all off.

I found only 2 ticks on my head on the way home, which was cause for much celebration (although possibly not for the passing motorists I flicked them at).

Banded 40: MAWA 4, BGGN 2, BWWA 2, RCKI, AMGO, COYE 4, YWAR 5, NOWA 2, BBWA, LEFL 2, CAWA, BAWW, MOWA, BLPW, INBU, CEDW, OROR, RBGR 3, BAOR, GRCA 2, COGR 3

Retrapped 12: AMGO 3, YWAR 4, HOWR, RBGR, COYE, WAVI, MAWA

The RCKI was unusual in that it had fluffy plumage and a few orange feathers coming in where the ruby crown will be. Possibly an L, a sick bird that lost many feathers, a genetic mutant? I don't know. Wear on the central rects was extreme but otherwise they and the primaries looked "normal". Any comments? (See the photos below)

B

A few photos of the weird Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.

May 24th, 2006

2006-05-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Today started off like any other May day at Ruthven this year (i.e. frost on the nets, threat of rain, weeping, wailing, rubbing of gums (teeth long since gnashed off) by the banding lackey) but lo and behold the temperatures warmed up to almost seasonal levels and there were birds around.

There was also a myriad of people too since today was Ruthven's Spring High Tea. In fact I had spent yesterday practising for the event (see Rick's totally misinterpreted and misguided photo from yesterday - notice also that "fear" wasn't even listed as one of the choices) in the hopes of participating but I was sadly not invited. So instead I stayed and banded at the station.

Today was no lonely sojourn in the Piggery by this outcast wannabe tea server however - I somehow collected 5 ticks as companions. Unfortunately I found 4 of them while I was driving home, which would have at least offered me the consolation of qualifying for a carpool lane if Hwy 54 had one.

Banded 39: MAWA 6, AMRE 2, CSWA, AMGO 3, YWAR 9, FISP, EAWP, LEFL, COYE, INBU, CEDW, GRCA 8, BAOR, RBGR 2, RWBL

Retrapped 12: AMGO, YWAR 6, RBGR, COGR, BAOR, AMRO, SOSP

B

Selkirk

After a week of just a few new birds filtering through a minor drop occurred in Selkirk comprising mainly of warblers and a few thrushes. There also was a good selection of odds and ends to give the day a good variety of species banded.

Banded: EAWP 1, TRFL 1, VEER 4, GCTH 1, SWTH 6, AMRO 1, GRCA 1, REVI 2, YWAR 1, CSWA 2, MAWA 15, BTBW 3, MYWA 3, BLBW 1, AMRE 5, OVEN 6, MOWA 1, COYE 2,WIWA 5, CAWA 3, SCTA 1, INBU 1, SAVS 1, LISP 1, RWBL 1, BAOR 2 = 71

John

May 23rd, 2006

2006-05-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

A cold wind was blowing from the WNW. The temperature was +1 and frost patches mottled the nets. Good training for the Arctic (only two weeks away!) but pretty damned uncomfortable conditions for the end of May! Didn't seem to bother the birds though - they were singing vociferously by 4:15 (Standard time).

There was no "big" net round - just slow but steady. Ended up banding 36 and retrapping 15. Had the first Swainson's Thrush and Eastern Wood Peewee of the year.

36 banded: 1 MODO, 1 TRFL (probably a WIFL), 4 LEFL, 1 HOWR, 1 RCKI, 1 BGGN, 1 SWTH, 5 GRCA, 1 BRTH, 6 YWAR, 1 MAWA, 1 COYE, 1 WIWA, 1 RBGR, 1 CHSP, 1 SOSP, 3 RWBL, 2 COGR, 1 BHCO, 1 OROR, 1 AMGO.

15 retraps: 1 WAVI, 8 YWAR, 1 MAWA, 1 COYE, 2 SOSP, 1 BHCO, 1 AMGO.

Jack-in-the-pulpit - a common flower at Ruthven (and an inspiration to keep the Garlic Mustard under control).

The paid staff taking a couple of hours for lunch in order to enjoy the sunshine and....warm up. The unpaid staff were either digging in the gardens, digging at the archaeological site or closing up the banding lab in order to hustle off to work. It's a strange world sometimes, isn't it?

Good Samaritan or Sexist Pig? YOU MAKE THE CALL!! Brian, seen here running a cup of hot tea over to the Summer student Liz....she was cold. This was at 11:00 AM, intense sunshine and 15 degrees. At 6:00, cold wind, 1 degree, I didn't see any tea coming MY way.

Selkirk

Another so so day at Selkirk. A lot of the species one would expect at this time of the year just have not shown themselves at Selkirk and particularly in the banding area. The odd new bird continues to show up in the nets but the trees have not been dripping birds as one would expect at this time of the year.

Selikirk will be closed Thursday May 25th as I will be spending the day doing the birdathon entirely in Haldimand County. It seems that whatever day I pick to do this it is a wet windy day or there are no migrants easily found. So far rain is not the forecast. Maybe we will finally have a "good" day.

Banded today; LEFL 1, HOWR 1, RCKI 1, GRCA 2, BRTH 1, OCWA 1, NAWA 2, YWAR 7, MAWA 5, MYWA 2, LISP 2, RWBL 3, AMGO 3 = 31

John

May 22nd, 2006

2006-05-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

A day of many remarkable sightings at the Ruthven Banding Station. A Sandhill Crane was observed flying over the property and a skein of 71 Whimbrel zipped over heading upriver. The most amazing sighting however was that of Rick, who through sheer dedication (possibly influenced by gale force winds and snow) cut short his holidays to assist the resident lackeys in their monitoring endeavours.

His selfless actions were rewarded amply by the presence of the first Cape May Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Cliff Swallow, and Whimbrel of the season. Even the mossies broke their torpor long enough to give him a rousing welcome.

A lot more birds around today as evidenced by the number of new migrant species encountered, although the action tapered off by midmorning.

The number of swallows along the river continued to increase with even more Bank Swallows, Tree Swallows, and Barn Swallows being recorded than yesterday, along with a couple Cliff Swallows and 5 Purple Martins.

Banded 46: AMGO 4, WIWA 3, TEWA, MAWA 2, YWAR 7, WAVI 2, MYWA 6, COYE, LEFL, CMWA, HOWR, YBFL, INBU, REVI, SOSP 2, GRCA 5, BAOR 2, RBGR 2, RWBL, BHCO, COGR

Retrapped 20: SOSP 2, YWAR 9, AMGO 4, RBGR, BCCH, OVEN, HOWR, BAOR

B

Male Cape May Warbler.

Brian with proud parents...thank gawd he finally got a job!

Selkirk

Another slow day for this time of the year at Selkirk. A few new arrivals back on
teritory were noted with singing EAWP and WIFL. The Whimbrel are coming through in number with 2 flocks seen on census at the tip totaling aprox. 100 birds.

No sign of the waves of warblers and thrushes being reported elsewhere.

Banded: MODO 1, NRWS 2, RCKI 1, GRCA 2, YWAR 2, MAWA 2, MYWA 6, COYE 1, WIWA 1, CAWA 1,LISP 2, BAOR 1, AMGO 2 = 25

John

May 21st, 2006

2006-05-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

A cold, windy and rather unpleasant day. Rain continued past dawn before dispersing, although it remained a threat throughout the morning. The high wind that drove the rain clouds away (and kept bringing more in..) caused the nets to billow dramatically and much reduced the rate of capture. Remarkably though, there were birds around, particularly in sheltered areas.

The number of swallows found along the river continues to increase, with many Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, and Northern Rough-Winged Swallows being observed feeding close to the river's surface.

Also remarkable was the fact that Peter was attacked by only a single mosquito. I suspect rather than an attack the poor frigid mossie was trying to share body heat - an action that was sadly (and perhaps fatally) misinterpreted.

The first Olive -sided Flycatcher and Willow Flycatcher were recorded for the season.

Banded 31: NAWA 2, MAWA 10, AMGO, CSWA, YWAR 4, HOWR, MYWA, COYE, INBU, SWSP, SOSP, CEDW, GRCA 3, BAOR, RBGR, BHCO

Retrapped 12: BCCH, YWAR 4, RBGR 2, INBU, SOSP, AMGO 3

The INBU was originally banded at Ruthven Park as an AHY in 2002.

B

Selkirk

A damp start to the day. A cold front swept across the provincial during the night and the trailing edge was passing as I left in a light rain shower. By the time I got to the park and started to open the nets patches of blue sky were in the west. By the time the nets were 1/2 open blue sky was overhead. A raw strong westerly wind developed pushing most small birds to the east side of the bandign area where the odd small group found the nets. Not a great day but still a decent effort.

Banded: LEFL 2, VEER 2, AMRO 1, TEWA 1, MAWA 5, MYWA 4, OVEN 1, COYE 1, NOCA 1, RBGR 1, EWCS 4, AMGO 2 = 26

Selkirk's top species this spring with 40 or more banded

WTSP 394
GCKI 242
RCKI 242
HETH 134
SCJU 121
AMGO 112
SOSP 97
ATSP 75
MYWA 58
AMRO 58
MAWA 50
OVEN 48
GRCA 48
EWCS 46
YWAR 44
LISP 40

John

May 20th, 2006

2006-05-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

Another quiet day at Ruthven with very few migrants in evidence around the property. A hatch of mayfly must have begun during the night however as many were observed clinging to the river nets, and there were a moderate number of Tree, Barn, and Bank Swallows foraging over the water's surface. The CHSW and a PUMA also joined the feeding frenzy.

A late COLO was observed by Jim heading west across the dawn sky and a surprising 2 COTE were observed heading downriver during census.

Banded 13: HOWR, YWAR 2, RBGR 2, INBU, SOSP, COGR 2, AMGO 4
Retrapped 15: MODO, DOWO 2, BLJA, WBNU, HOWR, YWAR 4, RBGR 2, SOSP, BAOR, AMGO

Today marked the official opening of the mansion for the summer season.

B

Selkirk

A bit of warbler calls at first light as well as the odd Wood Thrush. Sounded like an improvement over yesterday. First run was much better than Friday's but then the shoe fell off. A steady movement of birds did move through the pines so by close down time,today was a copy of yesterday but with a bit of change in the variety. A fairly decent day actually.

Banded: HOWR 1, AMRO 1, CEDW 1, NAWA 7, YWAR 3. MAWA 12, MYWA 5, BTNW 2, OVEN 2, COYE 1, WIWA 1, INBU 1, SWSP 1, EWCS 1, BAOR 1, AMGO 1 =41

STD 2310 (3rd best spring so far)

John

May 19th, 2006

2006-05-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

In a rare occurrence Rick, Loretta and myself were actually present at the Ruthven Banding Station at the same time.

Such an auspicious gathering should have under normal circumstances been rewarded by a plethora of rare and exotic migrants, the recovery of birds banded far away and long ago, and the discovery of interesting behaviours undocumented by science. So at least one would think...

Despite the diligent application of herbicidal behaviour and the promise of clean bird bags the heavens did not open deluging us with rare and exotic migrants, recovered birds, while plentiful, were both disappointingly recent and local, and all observed behaviours were of the mundane variety....at least until Rick and Loretta left.

Late in the morning a pair of Red-tailed Hawk intercepted a passing Red-shouldered Hawk and harassed him - somewhat unsuccessfully as it turns out since the Red-shouldered Hawk seemed to be giving better than it received. A few minutes later a passing full adult Bald Eagle was likewise intercepted, but did not deign to pay the Red-tailed Hawks much attention. The infuriated Red-tailed hawk duo then salved their pique by picking on an innocent passing Turkey Vulture. All in all an amazing aerial display.

Banded 26: TEWA, MAWA, YWAR 11, LEFL, INBU, SOSP, GRCA 4, BAOR 4, RBGR 2
Retrapped 19: COYE 2, DOWO 2, RBGR 3, YWAR 5, SOSP, AMGO, BAOR, BCCH, INBU, OROR, BHCO

B

An after-second-year Male Indigo Bunting.

Selkirk

Only the odd warbler call at dawn with 1 WTSP call thrown in. Fist round produced 4 birds which was not a good indication of a decent day. Birds filtered into the area as the day progressed so we ended up with a fairly decent day which was a surprise considered how the day started.

Banded; MODO 1, YBFL 1, RCKI 1, GRCA 4, CEDW 6, NAWA 4, YWAR 5, MAWA 10, MYWA 1, WTSP 1, BAOR 1, AMGO 6 = 41

John

May 18th, 2006

2006-05-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

A rainy day. I went out just long enough to do a census (and band 1 RBGR and retrap 1 GRCA banded last Fall). Lots of local breeding birds around but not many migrants - especially warblers. John Miles and I have exchanged a couple of e-mails to the effect that despite reports of lots of warblers being seen to the north (e.g., Thickson Woods north of Toronto) we have seen very few. Our thinking is that the birds are just "flying over" - getting north as fast as they can. On the other hand, I have yet to hear/see an Eastern Wood Peewee at Ruthven so far - they should have been here by now.

Rick

Red Chestnut on a rainy day.

Rick, feeling rather blue on this rainy, warbler-less day, decided to also paint an image of the Red Chestnut hoping it would cheer him up (or maybe he was just expressing his 'feelings' in some way).

Beauty and the Beast? Noooo....I'm sure that to someone Brian is beautiful. (I just haven't found that person yet.) On his left is Liz Sukkau a recent McMaster graduate and our new Summer student. Liz has a minor in GIS but seems to have lost her way looking for a job in the city. Despite being a Mac graduate, she's pretty knowledgeable and keen to get going.

Selkirk

Raining prety good this morning so I got caught up on some ZZZ's. Radar indicated the storm had past so I went out late around10:30m to sample the banding area. Ran into a light drain/drizzle on Reg. 3 east of the Cheapside Rd. Had the station operational by noon with some spotty light rain persisting. Should have stayed home, there had not been a fall out as sometimes occurs. However I did get a sample which was not too much. From the reports received there are good numbers of warblers at Rondreau and Oshawa but not in our neck of the woods.

Banded: MODO 1, RCKI 1, AMRO 1, CEDW 3, YWAR 4 = 10

John

May 17th, 2006

2006-05-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Special Note: Take a moment to read this article by the Globe and Mail. It discusses the growing threat that Garlic Mustard presents to Southern Ontario's forests and native plant species (I guess the people and cities aren't enough). Ruthven has plenty of this stuff around. While we are encouraging people to pull it up, caution is needed: (an excerpt from the article)

"Do not rush out to the garden to erase any trace of it, either – that may end up doing more harm than good, he added.

“If people are pulling it up while it's in seed, you can actually spread the seeds around by pulling it up.”

When garlic mustard is in flower, usually from April to mid-May, it has not started seeding and is safe to pull up. After that, however, weeding, trampling and even composting can just mean more seeds strewn across a lawn or garden, he said."

Ruthven

A bit more bird life around today despite an unpromising start due to mist and threats of rain.

The Ruthven summer staff came out and spent the morning at the station and seemed to bring good luck as the banding totals were the highest since Saturday. They also managed to collect a large number of ticks, with at least a dozen being encountered between them.

A heavy but brief rain fell soon after the nets were closed.

Banded 31: NAWA 2, MAWA 5, AMGO, BTNW, YWAR 7, HOWR, MYWA, TRFL, OVEN 3, REVI, LISP, INBU, GRCA 4, RBGR, COGR

Retrapped 20: HOWR, BCCH 2, YWAR 3, BAOR 4, SOSP 2, COYE 2, RBGR, GRCA 2, DOWO, AMGO 2

An abandoned Wild Turkey egg was found dug in to the bark mulch around some cedars at the mansion.

B

Selkirk

Not much moving early but a few warblers were heard singing. The nets were active in the morning and we ended up with a good day with nice variety.

Banded: LEFL 3, HOWR 2, RCKI 2,VEER 1, AMRO 2, GRCA 8, CEDW 4, OCWA 1, NAWA 2, YWAR 8, MAWA 8, BAWW 1, OVEN 5, COYE 2, CAWA 1, SOSP 1, LISP 1, EWCS 3, BAOR 1, AMGO 5 =61

John

May 16th, 2006

2006-05-17T05:13:00.000-07:00

Ruthven

I had a late start this morning, as the rain did not end until after 7am. The sky was full of black clouds, and it was spitting rain again as I drove home about 2 o'clock.

Three of Dr Pat Chow Fraser's summer team were out this morning, so it was nice to have some young enthusiastic birders visit.

Again, I was hesitant to open all the nets, with the weather so unpredictable. This has been a very slow moving Low Pressure cell, dominating the weather here for the last 6 days!

Only 12 birds were banded this morning, in part due to the late start, and in part due to running fewer nets.

Banded (12): 1 RCKI, 1 BWWA, 1 NAWA, 1 YWAR, 2 MAWA, 2 RBGR, 1 BAOR, 2 AMGO.

Retrapped (6): 1 HAWO, 2 GRCA, 1 BAOR, and 2 AMGO.

Of the retraps, we have seen all but one bird already this spring. The one remaining bird was an AMGO originally banded in 04, and not seen since. The HAWO has been handled 8 times, and was originally banded in '02. He was kind of neat, because he had a partial brood patch.

Loretta

Selkirk was closed today.

May 15th, 2006

2006-05-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

Note: Both posts from the weekend (May 13th and 14th) have lots of photos.

Ruthven

A very slow day at Ruthven. A few warblers about, but nothing in any great number.

The highlight of the day came when a pair of PUMA investigated the two martin houses in the parking lot. The male seemed eager but the female remained uninterested and they disappeared eastward.

Banded 19: AMGO 2, NAWA, BWWA, MAWA, CSWA, YWAR 2, MYWA, LEFL, HOWR 2, SOSP , RWBL, GRCA, BAOR 3, WOTH

Retrapped 22: AMRO 2, AMGO, BAOR 2, RBGR 2, SOSP 4, DOWO 3, BHCO, BCCH, WAVI 2, YWAR 4

The banded MAWA had a large growth under its lower mandible. It looked like an exceptionally large tick except it had a few scattered feathers growing on it.

One of the retrapped BAOR was banded as a HY at Ruthven in 2001. One of the WAVI was banded as an AHY in 2002 and had not been encountered since.

Selkirk

Another slow day, very little noticeable in the banding area but a few birds contiued to appear in the nets every so often.

Banded: YSFL 1, GRCA 3, CEDW 2, YWAR 1, MAWA 1, MYWA 5, NOWA 1, NOCA 1, INBU 1, EWCS 1, COGR 1, AMGO 4 = 22

John