November 2nd- 4th, 2006

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