October 30th - November 1st, 2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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