Michigan Hummingbird Guy

Metro Beach Fall 2009 banding summary

2009-11-06T15:19:00.001-05:00

This week marks the transition from fall migration banding at Metro Beach to winter banding in my yard in Inkster, Wayne Co., Michigan where the photo of the Tufted Timouse above was taken. Here is a brief summary of the fall banding results. A full report with analysis and comparisons will be posted on-line at the Metro Beach Banding web page, hopefully before the end of the year!

A total of 1639 new birds of 71 species, plus 231 recaptures and 32 released unbanded, resulted in 1902 total captures for the fall, the second highest since 2004. The nets were open a total of 145 hours on 22 days (1765 net hours) between August 2 and October 31, 2009 with a capture rate of 107.7 birds per 100 net hours, again the second highest since 2004. A hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler banded on September 25 was the 10,000th bird banded since 2004 (slightly more than 24,000 birds have been banded at Metro Beach from 1989 to the end of this fall season). Listed below are the species and totals banded for the season.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 64

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1

Downy Woodpecker - 10

Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker - 3

Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 5

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 10

Alder Flycatcher - 4

Willow Flycatcher - 8

"Traill's" Flycatcher - 11

Least Flycatcher - 22

Eastern Phoebe - 5

Blue-headed Vireo - 5

Warbling Vireo - 9

Philadelphia Vireo - 1

Red-eyed Vireo - 9

Blue Jay - 1

Black-capped Chickadee - 12

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1

Brown Creeper - 13

House Wren - 27

Winter Wren - 21

Marsh Wren - 5

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 64

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 64

Veery - 2

Gray-cheeked Thrush - 14

Swainson's Thrush - 53

Hermit Thrush - 109

Wood Thrush - 1

American Robin - 62

Gray Catbird - 29

Cedar Waxwing - 39

Tennessee Warbler - 7

Orange-crowned Warbler - 8

Nashville Warbler - 46

Northern Parula - 4

Yellow Warbler - 28

Chestnut-sided Warbler - 8

Magnolia Warbler - 32

Black-throated Blue Warbler - 40

Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler - 7

Black-throated Green Warbler - 3

Blackburnian Warbler - 1

(Western) Palm Warbler - 4

Bay-breasted Warbler - 2

Blackpoll Warbler - 6

Black-and-white Warbler - 4

American Redstart - 9

Ovenbird - 14

Northern Waterthrush - 10

Mourning Warbler - 10

Common Yellowthroat - 81

Wilson's Warbler - 26

Canada Warbler - 5

Northern Cardinal - 8

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 2

Indigo Bunting - 2

Eastern Towhee - 1

American Tree Sparrow - 3

Fox Sparrow - 2

Song Sparrow - 141

Lincoln's Sparrow - 15

Swamp Sparrow - 114

White-throated Sparrow - 160

(Eastern) White-crowned Sparrow - 7

Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco - 9

Red-winged Blackbird - 17

Common Grackle - 3

Baltimore Oriole - 8

American Goldfinch - 107

Metro Beach banding report - October 28 & 31, 2009

2009-11-01T15:57:00.006-05:00

This is the final week of banding at Metro Beach for 2009. This is hard work, and serious research, but it is also fun and rewarding, so part of me is sad that fall banding is at an end for one more year. But another part of me is glad to see the month of October over and done with! As I write this on November 1st, it is a beautiful day with partly cloudy skies, temperatures in the 50s, and a very light breeze. It is the kind of day that would be perfect for banding, but which was all too rare in October.

We did band on two days this week, however, managing to dodge the weather sufficiently to band a few birds. On Wednesday, October 28, the rain that had been going on all night was almost finished when we arrived on-site at 6 a.m. and we decided to go with a "normal" setup and proceeded accordingly. This was a good decision as the rain completely stopped before we had the first (of 3) group of nets set up. I started the owl luring tape at the Swamp Nets and we continued with the setup. Saturday, October 31 was a different matter. Rain was predicted for most of the morning but in looking at the weather radar it appeared that we would not have any, and indeed that was the case as we arrived with no rain. The wind was another matter, however. The wind advisory set for today had been canceled, at least, but it was still windy and we had to set up differently. The Swamp Nets, along with owl luring tape, was set up first followed by the Field, Field Edge, and Willow nets. But when we got to the Upland area, it was clear that the blustery and gusty winds were going to prevent nets from working in this area, so only one of the four were set up here. The wind was marginal all day, billowing nets and filling them with leaves, and we closed early to allow volunteers to get home for Halloween. The owl lure did not catch any owls, but it was worth trying again; one of these years we'll succeed. Perhaps I'll have to think of a way to band owls overnight in the park (which is closed)?

Banding highlights from the 103 birds banded on Wednesday, October 28 included two first for the season though neither was the one I was expecting and hoping for. Eastern Towhee is always a nice bird to catch, as we don't catch them every year and usually just one per season. This one was a nice male, told by its black upperparts, and a hatch-year bird told by its brown eye instead of red.

Hatch-year male Eastern Towhee

Another species, a classic sign of winter, is the American Tree Sparrow. Last year we caught 5 of them on November 1, which was the first time this species had been captured in the fall here. Today, two of them were banded making this the official record early date for banding them here.

Hatch-year American Tree Sparrow

The central breast spot, the key field mark for this species, is not visible in this photo. But many birders are surprised to hear that a fair number of American Tree Sparrows do not have this marking. VARIATION is something that birders often forget to take into account, and it is the main reason that EXPERIENCE is so much more valuable than reading even the best field guides, or trolling the internet for (often mis-labeled) photos. Of course you get experience by going out and seeing birds as often as you can, and with others who are more experienced. It also points out that identifying birds by a single field mark can fail when that mark is absent! So, what other field marks are there? Check out the photo below, taken in November 2003 at a banding station in Canada, showing two similar sparrows, American Tree and Field.

American Tree (left) and Field Sparrows (at HBMO in 2003)

Note that there are several differences, when they are seen side-by-side. But which are good field marks? Note the pink bill on the Field Sparrow and the black-and-yellow bill on the Tree Sparrow. This is actually less variable than the breast spot, and a great thing to look for. Note also the plain face and complete white eyering on the Field Sparrow, and the distinct rufous eyeline (mainly behind the eye) in the Tree Sparrow. These are also good field marks. Studying this photo more closely will undoubtedly reveal more subtle differences.

A Dark-eyed Junco kept with the wintry theme of the day (bird-wise, not weather-wise), but the Eastern Phoebe reminded us that it was still fall migration after all, though this may be the latest one ever banded here.

Hatch-year Eastern Phoebe

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a single flyover Tundra Swan, two Great Horned Owls calling (no begging calls this morning), flyover American Pipits, an Orange-crowned Warbler, and at least 3 Fox Sparrows one of which sang back to Dave's iPod!

Banding highlights from the 21 birds banded on Saturday, October 31 included the first (2) Fox Sparrows of the season. Finally! Normally we band a couple of these before the middle of October, and often more after that. Their absence (in the field and in the nets) until today is puzzling.

Hatch-year Fox Sparrow

Another Dark-eyed Junco brought the season's total to 9, which is a record, while two more Winter Wrens brought the season's total to 21, just one short of last fall's record.

Hatch-year Winter Wren

And another American Tree Sparrow was a welcome capture. Three American Robins brought the season's total to 62, another record which was certainly due to the unusual number banded during September and October, which is not typical for this site. And a single Yellow-rumped Warbler brought some welcome color to this bleak day, and was the latest ever banded here.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included both a Tufted Titmouse and White-breasted Nuthatch, both fairly common in the park but infrequent visitors to the Swamp Woods/Marsh edge habitat of the banding area.

Many thanks to the volunteers who made banding on these two days possible with their flexible schedules to work around the annoying weather patterns this week: John Bieganowski, Kathleen Dougherty, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack, and Joan Tisdale.

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Banding Data
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WEDNESDAY, October 28, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 7:00
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:45
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 4.50-13.25
Net Hours: 86.375
Temperature (F): 50-61
Cloud Cover: 100-50%
Wind: NNW @ 3-5-10 mph
Barometer: 29.87-30.01
Precipitation: Light rain before open
No. Banded: 103 (plus 7 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 128.5 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack

Eastern Phoebe - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Winter Wren - 2 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Hermit Thrush - 4
American Robin - 6
Eastern Towhee - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 2
Song Sparrow - 23 (plus 2 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 11 (plus 1 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 13
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
American Goldfinch - 31 (plus 3 recaptured)

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SATURDAY, October 31, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 7:04
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:15
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:15
Hours Open: 6.00
No. of Nets: 4.50-10.25
Net Hours: 57.875
Temperature (F): 54-54
Cloud Cover: 100-50%
Wind: SW @ 10-12 (gusts to 20) mph
Barometer: 29.59-29.79
Precipitation: Trace
No. Banded: 21 (plus 2 recaptured)
No. of Species: 9
Capture Rate: 39.7 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Kathleen Dougherty, Joan Tisdale

Winter Wren - 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 10
American Robin - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 1
Fox Sparrow - 2
[Song Sparrow - 1 recaptured]
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
American Goldfinch - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Belle Isle tree trip

2009-10-26T14:28:00.003-04:00

Belle Isle is one of my favorite places to go birding, and I've promoted the value of this place in my book, A Birder's Guide to Michigan (now out of print), as well as in a recent Birders World article, Hotspots Near You, and have led many birding field trips for local Audubon chapters and conducted bird surveys here in 2005. But there's so much more to Belle Isle, and this blog entry will turn away from the birds for a moment to focus on some of the interesting plant life here, particularly the trees.

On Sunday, October 25, a field trip was scheduled for 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. by the Huron Valley Chapter of the Michigan Botanical Club, and co-sponsored by the Essex County Field Naturalists' Club, the Lakeplain Cluster of the Stewardship Network, and the Friends of Belle Isle (and possibly others). The purpose was to see some of the rare trees and shrubs on the island, and talk about ways to improve the habitat in broad ecological terms by removing invasives and enhancing the area's hydrology, and improving (or maintaining) the value to breeding and migratory birds. At least 50 people showed up (perhaps more than 60), much to our surprise!

The main leader of the trip (though several of us co-led) was Suzan Campbell, currently with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI), and formerly a naturalist at Belle Isle. After a brief orientation at the Nature Center, we stepped outside to have a look at one of the rare trees on Belle Isle, the Pumpkin Ash (Fraxinus profunda). This is a species of the Atlantic coastal plain from Virginia to Florida, and in the Mississippi River valley. It is found only in a few small areas in southern Michigan, which is at the northernmost point of its world range, and it is a Threatened species in the state. Sadly, it is also being attacked by the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis).

In the photo below, Suzan explains to the group (only a few of which are in the photo) the botanical history of the Pumpkin Ash and shows the identification features on a sapling that was planted here maybe 7-8 years ago.

Ash trees have compound leaves, and identification of the various species can be tricky. Pumpkin Ash can be identified by the larger spaces between the pairs of leaflets, giving the tree a more airy appearance than other ashes. This is seen well in the photo below.

We then drove around to the other end of the ~350 acre patch of old-growth swamp woods to a trail where we spent the rest of the afternoon. One of the first patches of Pumpkin Ash we came to was, sadly, a small grove that had all been recently killed by Emerald Ash Borers.

Upon closer inspection we were able to see the numerous, characteristically D-shaped exit holes where the adults emerged after feeding on the tree as larvae.

But we did see some Pumpkin Ashes that were still alive, or struggling to survive. The most interesting was the State Champion (largest in Michigan) individual that Nancy is touching below.

I married a tree-hugger, and I'm proud of her! She would have hugged this one except that there were a couple of Poison Ivy vines climbing the trunk.

The dark bunches in the photo below are the dried flowers from earlier in the year. This champion individual is a male tree. Some trees have separate male and female individuals, making cross-pollination a bit more challenging. Also, there seems to be a shortage of female Pumpkin Ash trees on Belle Isle; yet one more hurdle to their survival in Michigan.

Another ash, though not actually in the ash family, was the Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), which had beautiful yellow leaves hiding an abundance of sharp thorns.

We also enjoyed the fall color along the walk, and there were certainly several other species of oak, as well as the maples below.

Even the common Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans) in the photo below provided nice color, as well as an educational opportunity for many of the trip participants!

Unfortunately there were numerous invasive species seen, including at least two species of Asian honeysuckle (Lonicera maacki, Lonicera tatarica). One of the worst invasives in the state, though not as much a problem on Belle Isle, is the Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), which can get quite shrubby but here seems to stay mostly low and herbaceous.

A species I was hoping to see, as it was a "lifer" plant, was the Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpurea), also called Burning-bush in some references; a rare plant in Michigan and one of only two native species in this genus (others are escaped from cultivation). None of them had any leaves on them this time of year, but I doubt I'd be able to recognize it by those anyway as the leaves (a few of which were on the ground) looked a lot like ash tree leaves! Luckily, Suzan and some of the other trip leaders had gone around and put signs on them!

But once we got closer we saw the odd berries that are very distinctive, and beautiful.

Another rare tree in Michigan, found at Belle Isle, is the Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii). This oak is fairly common in the south, from Texas to Florida north to Missouri and Indiana.

It grows on the edges of swamps, and at Belle Isle it grows on hummocks in the swamp woods and is at the northernmost end of its world range. Identifying any tree can be tricky, and oaks are no different. The shape of the leaves put in field guides are often an "average", and on an actual tree the leaves at the bottom are often different from those at the top. In the two photos below, leaves from the bottom and near the top of the same Shumard Oak show these differences.

From one of the bridges over the stream and against the blue sky, we could see a very tall, stately Shumard Oak turning orange with the season. Suzan told us that it was the largest Shumard Oak on Belle Isle, and apparently a state champion as well.

So, of course we had to walk over to get close to, and touch this impressive tree. Many of the trees in this swamp woods on Belle Isle develop "buttressed" roots, which is a broadening of the trunk which allows them to gain a more firm footing in the wetlands (and clay soil here), much like trees in southern swamps do.

All of these trees can, of course, also be identified by their bark patterns by experts.

But we'll have to leave that lesson for another field trip, on another day.

Metro Beach banding report - October 22, 2009

2009-10-23T20:28:00.001-04:00

Once again a rainy week and a shortage of volunteers conspired to limit banding to one day this week instead of the two days in the protocol. In the 12 years from 1989-2000 banding was conducted twice a week, on weekends, during spring and fall migration. My current banding efforts, begun in 2004, attempts to use consistent methods as much as possible so that at the conclusion of ten years of banding (in 2014) statistically sound comparisons can be made.

This day was similar, weather-wise, to two weeks ago when a cold front passed through the area on the day of banding. The results were similar, with not many birds banded. An effort was made to audio-lure for owls (Northern Saw-whet and Eastern Screech-Owls) for about an hour before first light in the Upland Nets area, but without success.

Banding highlights for Thursday, October 22 included 7 more American Robins, adding to this fall's record numbers.

Hatch-year male American Robin

The real highlight of the day was the FIVE species of warbler! Two species are expected this late, two are generally mostly gone by now, and one was unexpected. The most expected warbler species, Orange-crowned, was not banded today!

A Nashville Warbler was one of the species that can occur this late into October with some regularity, so it wasn't too surprising that we caught one.

Hatch-year female Nashville Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler is the other species that occurs well into October, though this fall not many have been banded. The one captured today had a single white feather in the rear crown, visible in the photo below.

Hatch-year female Yellow-rumped Warbler

Blackpoll Warblers can also occur into mid-October with some regularity, but are starting to be fairly scarce by this date, so this one was a pleasant surprise.

Hatch-year male Blackpoll Warbler

Another late warbler is the Black-throated Blue Warbler, which like the Blackpoll can occur into late October in small numbers. The female banded today had a very small white spot at the base of the primaries, which could easily be overlooked in the field.

Hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler

Some females can completely lack this field mark, which can cause confusion for some birders who might be relying on a single field mark to identify the species. But even lacking this distinctive mark, the female Black-throated Blue Warbler can be fairly easily identified by the pattern on her head. The close-up below shows that she has a distinctive dark cheek and especially dark in front of the eye, along with a short white "eyebrow" and a small white eye arc below the eye.

Hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler

This pattern is most similar to the Yellow-rumped Warbler (compare with photo above), but the female Black-throated Blue is not streaked, shows no wing bars, and does not have a yellow rump. Also, if one looks closely, often a blue tinge can be detected on the wings and tail.

The biggest surprise of the day was a very late Ovenbird. Normally, this species is gone from southern Michigan by the first few days of October except for an occasional individal that has lingered in downtown Detroit into December!

Hatch-year female Ovenbird

If she looks fat in this photo, that's because she was! Very well prepared to continue her migration.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included an Eastern Screech-Owl that responded to the audio-lure when I was fiddling with it at lunch time. This bird must have been within 50-feet of us but it quickly stopped calling and we never laid eyes on it. Perhaps we'll catch it next week. A juvenile Great Horned Owl has been begging in the area north of where we park for more than a month now, and began its complaining just about first light, letting up before sunrise. A Chimney Swift flying over was a bit unexpected, and a little late. Two Eastern Phoebes, also drawn in by the owl audio-lure, were seen near the cars. A White-breasted Nuthatch was a little unusual as the normally stay near the nature center and don't visit the swamp woods often. At least 4 Winter Wrens were heard calling in the banding area but none were captured. An Orange-crowned Warbler was present briefly near the cars but avoided capture. And one species that should have been captured by now, but which has not really been noticed in the banding area yet this fall is Fox Sparrow. We only have one more week to catch one, which so far we've done annually.

An interesting insect flew out from beneath the feathers of one of the Hermit Thrushes banded today. It is a Hippoboscid fly, called "flat flies" by banders because they are very flattened which allows them to move around beneath the feathers of birds. They feed on the blood of birds and have not been known to bite humans. They are slightly smaller than a common house fly.

Hippoboscid Fly (Hippoboscidae)

Many thanks to John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, and Tom Schlack for once again volunteering to help band this week.

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Banding Data
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THURSDAY, October 22, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:53
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:30
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 4.00-13.25
Net Hours: 91.313
Temperature (F): 57-59
Cloud Cover: 100-50-100%
Wind: SSW @ 7-10 mph to NW @ 12-15 just before close
Barometer: 29.97-30.05
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 34 (plus 9 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 48.2 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack

Downy Woodpecker - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Black-capped Chickadee - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Brown Creeper - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
Hermit Thrush - 6 (plus 4 recaptured)
American Robin - 7 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Nashville Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 1
Song Sparrow - 4 (plus 3 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 3
American Goldfinch - 2

Metro Beach banding report - October 14, 2009

2009-10-16T09:27:00.004-04:00

More rain than normal, along with temperatures at least 10-degrees below normal, as well as a shortage of volunteers again only allowed for one day of banding this week instead of our standard two days.

This report does not include any firsts for the season, as has been the case with several recent reports. But two record numbers were definitely the highlight of the day, limiting the photo highlights in this blog posting as there simply was almost no time to take photos. The 202 birds banded was a single day record (previous record was 181 on October 7, 1990), and the 72 Hermit Thrushes was also a single day record (previous record was 52 on October 9, 2005). One bird was banded about every minute and a half, for 6 hours, nonstop.

Hatch-year Hermit Thrush

The majority of the Hermit Thrushes banded today were hatch-year birds as in the photo above. Many (but not all) showed the buffy shaft streaks and spots on their greater secondary coverts often shown by hatch-years, which is something that can be seen in the field.

Other highlights included two Eastern Phoebes, good numbers of both species of kinglet, two Swainson's Thrushes, a somewhat late Gray Catbird, singles of Winter Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Lincoln's Sparrow. A touch of winter, other than the weather, was added by the capture of three Dark-eyed Juncos.

Hatch-year male Dark-eyed Junco

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher calling briefly near the banding area, and a juvenile Great Horned Owl begging, as has been the case for about a month, and a couple Purple Finches near the Field Nets.

I want to thank John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, and Tom Schlack for putting in such a great effort on this record day. It definitely could not have happened without them!

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Banding Data
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WEDNESDAY, October 14, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:43
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.25
Net Hours: 91.688
Temperature (F): 39-46
Cloud Cover: 100%
Wind: E-NE @ 5-7 (15) mph
Barometer: 30.40-30.28
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 202 (plus 11 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 21
Capture Rate: 234.5 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack

Downy Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 2
Black-capped Chickadee - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
Brown Creeper - 4
Winter Wren - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 23
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 34 (plus 1 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Swainson's Thrush - 2
Hermit Thrush - 72
American Robin - 7 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Gray Catbird - 1
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Song Sparrow - 9 (plus 5 recaptured)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 12 (plus 1 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 10
White-crowned Sparrow - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 3
Northern Cardinal - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 14 (plus 1 recaptured)

Metro Beach banding report - October 4 & 8, 2009

2009-10-09T12:40:00.004-04:00

After White-tailed Deer put holes in THREE nets last week, I had my work cut out for me to reconfigure what I had on-hand to keep the setup as consistent as possible for the remainder of the fall banding season. Not only is it destructive and expensive to have deer destroy nets (and kill birds), but constantly having to change the net configuration reduces the statistical validity of the data. I succeeded in rearranging the Field Nets to all be 3-shelf nets instead of 4-shelf, and replaced the destroyed 9-meter net in the Upland Nets with a 12-meter net, while the two remaining Upland Nets were kept in place with the holes being about a foot or so in diameter, hoping that this won't become a problem.

Revisiting last weeks posting for a moment, the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak photo posted there apparently shows a hatch-year bird, not a second-year bird. The molt in the greater secondary coverts can vary between individuals, but the overall brownish coloration on the primaries and secondaries clearly point toward hatch-year. At the time, I didn't intend to discuss molt in this species so I did not post a useful and informative photo of the spread wing from above, which I've posted here below.

Hatch-year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded 30 September 2009

This week started with an excellent day on Sunday, October 4, and a much slower day on Thursday, October 8 (postponed from October 7 due to high winds and rain). It was clear that both species of Kinglet had come in strong since last week. Check the numbers banded on Sunday. Numbers of White-throated Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Winter Wren were good on Sunday but on Thursday these species were scarce, so apparently we're between "waves" as there are clearly more being reported north of us. On both days, American Robins were a surprise as mostly we band these in early August.

Hatch-year American Robin

I don't often post about recaptures, as it takes me a while to look them all up and many are birds banded only a few days prior, but this week we recaptured a Black-capped Chickadee on Sunday that was banded originally as a hatch-year, sex unknown, in October 2005 and recaptured in spring of 2008 when it was determined to be a male. This chickadee is now a 5th-year male. And on Thursday we recaptured a female Northern Cardinal that was banded as an after hatch-year bird in April 2005 and not recaptured again until this year. She is now an after 5th-year female.

Banding highlights from Sunday, October 4 included a surprisingly late Eastern Wood-Pewee, and was our 5th for the season (sometimes we don't catch any).

Hatch-year Eastern Wood-Pewee

There is sometimes a lot of discussion on-line about identifying vagrant Western Wood-Pewees in the East. One of the field marks (but not the only one of course) often pointed to is the amount of orange on the base of the lower mandible. Western Wood-Pewee is supposed to show very little orange here while Eastern is supposed to show more. In my experience, which as noted does not include banding this species every fall, is that there can be individual hatch-year Eastern Wood-Pewees with a very limited amount of orange at the base of the lower mandible. That was the case with this individual today, and a photo of the bill from the underside is posted below.

Hatch-year Eastern Wood-Pewee

Another surprise, since it does not seem to be an irruption year for the species, was a Red-breasted Nuthatch found in the bottom panel of one of the Swamp Nets.

Hatch-year female Red-breasted Nuthatch

It was a good day to compare thrushes as Gray-cheeked, Swainson's, and Hermit were all captured today, though in small numbers. The photo below is a good comparison between Swainson's and Gray-cheeked fortuitously captured at the same time.

Hatch year Swainson's (left) and Gray-cheeked Thrushes

In addition to the first big push of kinglets of the fall, it was also a good day for warblers, with 17 individuals of 7 species banded. Orange-crowned Warbler is always nice to catch, and we had two of them, and a single Chestnut-sided Warbler was somewhat late. One of the nicest was this handsome Black-throated Green Warbler, one of two banded today.

Hatch-year male Black-throated Green Warbler

Sparrows continued with a strong showing with 4 species, and good numbers of White-throated continuing. The first good number of American Goldfinches since the thistle feeders were put up near the Field Nets was captured today as well.

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included a begging young Great Horned Owl again, a Tufted Titmouse (infrequent in the banding area, but regular near the Nature Center), a Marsh Wren singing from the dying Phragmites that were sprayed two weeks ago, two Palm Warblers, and single American Redstart and Northern Waterthrush. A single 'peek' note heard indicated that a Rose-breasted Grosbeak was still in the area.

Banding highlights from Thursday, October 8 included a somewhat late Marsh Wren, the 5th one of the fall, though all the previous individuals banded were in heavy molt and not as photogenic as this young bird, which has completed its first prebasic molt.

Hatch-year Marsh Wren

The number of kinglets, thrushes, sparrows, and warblers were all significantly decreased from earlier in the week, so 5 American Robins, 2 Nashville Warblers, and a Lincoln's Sparrow were notable.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included perhaps two begging Great Horned Owls this time, in the dark while we were setting up, at least two Tufted Titmice, a couple Yellow-rumped Warblers and a single Common Yellowthroat.

Banding this week could not have been done without the help of several very helpful and enthusiastic volunteers. With the help of first-timers Bob and Tenchi Wayner, Rick and Diana Langlois, and "banding assistant extraordinaire" Terri Chapdelaine, we were able to take down the nets and poles in a record 50-minutes! Thanks also to Chris Charlebois, Dave Lancaster, and Tom Schlack for being flexible in their schedule allowing us to shift from windy, rainy Wednesday to a less-windy Thursday.

====================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
SUNDAY, October 4, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:32
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.25
Net Hours: 86.250
Temperature (F): 51-57
Cloud Cover: 100%
Wind: SW @ 5-7-10 mph
Barometer: 29.94-29.99
Precipitation: Trace
No. Banded: 125 (plus 30 recaptured)
No. of Species: 26
Capture Rate: 179.7 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Terri Chapdelaine, Diana Langlois, Rick Langlois, Bob Wayner, Tenchi Wayner

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Brown Creeper - 1
House Wren - 2
Winter Wren - 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 25
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 14
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Hermit Thrush - 2 (plus 5 recaptured)
American Robin - 6
Orange-crowned Warbler - 2
Nashville Warbler - 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Magnolia Warbler - 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)
Black-throated Green Warbler - 2
Blackpoll Warbler - 1
Song Sparrow - 7 (plus 8 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 3 (plus 3 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 22 (plus 7 recaptured)
White-crowned Sparrow - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Northern Cardinal - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 11

-------------------------------------
THURSDAY, October 8, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:36
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:30
Hours Open: 6.75
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.25
Net Hours: 82.938
Temperature (F): 43-59
Cloud Cover: 10-100%
Wind: SSW @ 5-7-10 mph
Barometer: 30.12-30.09
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 26 (plus 12 recaptured)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 45.8 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Chris Charlebois, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack

[Black-capped Chickadee - 1 recaptured]
Brown Creeper - 1
[House Wren - 1 recaptured]
Marsh Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Hermit Thrush - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
American Robin - 5
Nashville Warbler - 2
Song Sparrow - 1 (plus 5 recaptured)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 7 (plus 2 recaptured)
Northern Cardinal - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 1

Metro Beach banding report - September 30, 2009

2009-10-02T13:45:00.002-04:00

Banding was conducted on only one day this week. I'm guessing that the lack of volunteers was partly due to the poor weather early and late in the week, allowing only Wednesday and Thursday as the only reasonable days. As the season's first serious cold front passed through on Monday and Tuesday, it was a day with great potential on Wednesday as the front had just passed, the rain had stopped, and the wind had reduced in velocity. The results speak for themselves, with 152 birds banded plus 29 recaptures, with a great diversity of 37 species (one short of the record number of species). A very busy day!

On the down side, White-tailed Deer ran through two more nets, destroying them. This is now 8 nets destroyed by deer this year, and I am not able to keep up financially to replace them. It will be challenging to reconfigure the nets I have remaining to keep the setup somewhat consistent for the remainder of the season. Even worse, two or three birds were killed in the nets by the deer. It has been very difficult to repel the deer from the banding area as they have no fear of humans, but I will step up my efforts to repel them for the remainder of the banding season, which ends October 31. I will have to evaluate whether it is worthwhile continuing this project beyond this season. A deer cull in the park may need to be considered, and I may have to consider halting banding at this locale until after such a cull is performed.

Banding highlights from Wednesday, September 30 included several new arrivals for the fall. Three Northern Flickers were in one of the field nets, on the same net run. That's a lot of feisty in one net!

Second-year male Northern Flicker

A little on the late side, was our tenth Yellow-bellied Flycatcher of the season, and the second Eastern Phoebe of the fall was captured today.

Hatch-year Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Three species of wren were captured today, including a late-ish House Wren, a late-ish Marsh Wren, and four more Winter Wrens. The first Golden-crowned Kinglet of the fall was caught today, although they've been in the area for at least a week.

Hatch-year female Golden-crowned Kinglet

Good numbers of thrushes were captured today, including three species, though the Hermit Thrush is beginning to dominate as expected. Thirteen species of warbler was very good for a late September day. While I expected to catch a lot of Nashville Warblers, there was only one (and one recaptured). Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers made their second appearance in the nets, with increased numbers, while both Bay-breasted and Blackpoll Warblers were firsts for the fall.

Hatch-year Bay-breasted Warbler

The lack of streaks on the breast, buffy-whitish underparts including undertail coverts, and gray feet and legs, identify the warbler in the photo above as a Bay-breasted.

Hatch-year Blackpoll Warbler

The warbler in the photo above shows a bird that is very white on the belly (continuing onto the undertail coverts not visible), as well as being fairly yellow on the throat and breast with distinct dark streaks on the sides of the breast. These are characters of Blackpoll Warbler. The diagnostic yellow feet can sometimes be difficult to see, and indeed in many young Blackpoll Warblers this yellow is limited to the soles of the feet so can't be seen well at all! The adult Blackpoll Warbler in the photo below shows extensively yellow feet, but most individuals will not be adults, and may not be close enough to see the feet.

After hatch-year Blackpoll Warbler

Singles of Black-and-white Warbler and American Redstart were a little late, and very welcome as both species have been caught in very low numbers this fall. Another surprise was two tardy Northern Waterthrushes.

Hatch-year Northern Waterthrush

Another Rose-breasted Grosbeak was caught today, another somewhat tardy migrant. This one allowed me to hold it in the "photographer's grip" without my getting bitten by that powerful seed-smashing bill.

Hatch-year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The contrast between the black and brown wing coverts visible in the photo above allow this individual to be aged as second-year (it has molted out of the black-and-white breeding plumage). The previous individual banded last week did not allow me to show the underwing coverts, which make it easy to determine the sex of these birds as they are yellow in females and rose-pink in males, as in the photo below.

Second-year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

An Indigo Bunting was another unexpected capture as it too is somewhat late, and the second one this fall. Sparrows were around in force, with 5 species banded and White-throated, Lincoln's, and Swamp Sparrows in good numbers. White-crowned Sparrows prefer more open habitats than the tangled, shrubby fields and swamp woods where the nets are located, so it is always a pleasant surprise when we catch them. Today we had three, including this nice adult.

After hatch-year White-crowned Sparrow

Interesting birds observed but not banded included two Great Horned Owls (one calling adult, one begging juvenile), a migrating Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Whip-poor-will flushed near (but not into!) a net, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Cape May and Black-throated Green Warblers, and a single Purple Finch out in the field briefly in the morning.

Many thanks to the volunteers who made banding possible on this day: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, and Tom Schlack.

====================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
WEDNESDAY, September 30, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:28
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:30
Hours Open: 7.75
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 95.188
Temperature (F): 47-57
Cloud Cover: 100-50%
Wind: NW-N @ 7-10-15 mph
Barometer: 30.10-30.12
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 152 (plus 29 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 37
Capture Rate: 191.2 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack

Northern Flicker - 3
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Brown Creeper - 3
House Wren - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Winter Wren - 4
Marsh Wren - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swainson's Thrush - 3
Hermit Thrush - 11 (plus 4 recaptured)
[Gray Catbird - 2 recaptured]
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Nashville Warbler - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Magnolia Warbler - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4
Palm Warbler - 3
Bay-breasted Warbler - 2
Blackpoll Warbler - 4
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 1
Ovenbird - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 8 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 5 (plus 7 recaptured)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 5
Swamp Sparrow - 17 (plus 3 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
White-throated Sparrow - 42 (plus 6 recaptured)
White-crowned Sparrow - 3
Northern Cardinal - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 1
American Goldfinch - 1

Metro Beach banding report - September 25 & 26, 2009

2009-09-27T15:18:00.000-04:00

After an absence of 7 days from the area, perhaps it is not surprising that again a number of new arrivals were recorded. Among these, White-throated Sparrows and Hermit Thrushes arrived in big numbers after only a few White-throats a week ago. Strong or even moderate cold fronts continue to avoid southern Michigan, so I am very glad that nearly 250 individuals were banded on these two days, and with such good diversity represented.

Banding highlights from Friday, September 25 included a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, possibly the last one of the season. The almost complete lack of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) flowers in the banding area has clearly had an impact. Normally there would be hundreds of plants with dozens of flowers on each plant. But this year the deer have so completely devastated the Jewelweed that perhaps at most one plant in five has a single flower on it. The first Blue-headed Vireos (3) of the fall season were captured today.

Hatch-year Blue-headed Vireo

Winter Wrens were first detected last week, but the first ones were banded today.

Hatch-year Winter Wren

Hermit Thrushes made their first appearance today as well, with a good total of 9 banded.

Hatch-year Hermit Thrush

Somewhat surprising was the capture of a Wood Thrush. They've been caught later here, but any time after September 20 is unexpected.

Hatch-year Wood Thrush

The first Orange-crowned Warbler was captured today, just about on time for the species. Often there are reports of this species in early September and even late August. No less an authority than Jon Dunn has suggested that any claim of Orange-crowned Warbler in the Great Lakes earlier than about September 20 should be carefully scrutinized. Many observers may not realize how green juvenile Tennessee Warblers can be in the fall, and neglect to check the single best field mark, the color of the undertail coverts. While they can be pale yellowish (but most often bright white) in Tennessee Warbler, they are bright lemon yellow in Orange-crowned Warbler. Both species were captured today, and photos below may help resolve some of this confusion. Also, compare the photo of the hatch-year Tennessee Warbler with those of the second-year females posted earlier this month.

Hatch-year Tennessee Warbler

Hatch-year male Orange-crowned Warbler

As noted, White-throated Sparrows arrived in force, with the handsome individual in the photo below only one of 32 banded today.

Hatch-year White-throated Sparrow

A species we don't catch very often, as they tend to feed in areas with more open spaces, is White-crowned Sparrow, so this individual was a little unusual.

Hatch-year White-crowned Sparrow

And an unexpected species, as we don't catch very many and they don't often arrive this early, was Dark-eyed Junco.

Hatch-year female Dark-eyed Junco

Interesting birds observed today but not banded included 2 Cooper's Hawks, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Veery calling before dawn. A couple small groups of Golden-crowned Kinglets signalled their first arrival for the fall.

Banding highlights from Saturday, September 26 included species that aren't banded here very often. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was only the second one banded here since 2004, and only the 8th one since 1989.

Hatch-year female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Eastern Phoebes aren't banded as often in the fall as they are in spring, and the one captured today was a little early for the first of season.

After hatch-year Eastern Phoebe

Other flycatchers captured today, both a little later than normal, were single Yellow-bellied and Least Flycatchers. Additional Winter Wrens, Hermit Thrushes, and Orange-crowned Warblers added to yesterday's totals. A flock of American Robins in the Upland Nets was unusual for so late in September in the banding area; usually they abandon the area by the end of August. A single Yellow-rumped Warbler was the first of the season, hopefully the first of many more to come.

Hatch-year female Yellow-rumped Warbler

A single Wilson's Warbler was a little bit late, and Lincoln's Sparrows were clearly peaking with 4 banded today. Another Dark-eyed Junco was as unexpected today as were the 3 banded yesterday. After just having discussed the diminishing possibility of catching a Rose-breasted Grosbeak with one of the volunteers, there was one out in the Field Nets not more than an hour later!

Hatch-year female Rose-breasted Grosbeak

With a powerful bill like that, there's NO WAY I'm going to hold it in the "photographer's grip" just for a decent photo on the blog. I don't need bloody fingers from that bite! Here I'm holding it in the "banders grip" which is safe and gentle for both the bird and the bander.

Interesting birds observed today but not banded included calling Great Horned Owls before dawn, a Cooper's Hawk, at least one other Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was heard while banding another, and a briefly singing Marsh Wren in the dying Phragmites stand near the Field Nets. Golden-crowned Kinglets were in the banding area again today, but not captured. Soon we'll have many!

Many thanks to the volunteers who made banding possible on these two days: John Bieganowski, Andrea Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Jacob Charlebois, Amanda Grimm, Dave Lancaster, Jennifer Philpot-Munson, and Tom Schlack.

====================

Banding Data
-------------------------------------
FRIDAY, September 25, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:22
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 88.563
Temperature (F): 57-72
Cloud Cover: 80-50%
Wind: NE-E @ 3-5-15 mph
Barometer: 30.29-30.33
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 128 (plus 6 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 32
Capture Rate: 152.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: John Bieganowski, Amanda Grimm, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Least Flycatcher - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 3
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
[Black-capped Chickadee - 1 recaptured]
Brown Creeper - 2
House Wren - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Winter Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 3
Swainson's Thrush - 7
Hermit Thrush - 9 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Wood Thrush - 1
American Robin - 1
Gray Catbird - 6 (plus 1 recaptured)
Tennessee Warbler - 3
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Nashville Warbler - 7
Magnolia Warbler - 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 6
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 3
Ovenbird - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 4 (plus 2 recaptured)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 3
Swamp Sparrow - 10
White-throated Sparrow - 32
White-crowned Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
American Goldfinch - 1

-------------------------------------
SATURDAY, September 26, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:23
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:15
Hours Open: 6.50
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 79.750
Temperature (F): 58-64
Cloud Cover: 100%
Wind: NE-SE @ 3-5-7 mph
Barometer: 30.10-29.97
Precipitation: Trace just before early closure
No. Banded: 120 (plus 10 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 29
Capture Rate: 164.3 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Andrea Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Jacob Charlebois, Jennifer Philpot-Munson

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER - 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1
Least Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
House Wren - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Winter Wren - 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 4
Swainson's Thrush - 6
Hermit Thrush - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Robin - 10 (plus 1 recaptured)
Gray Catbird - 6 (plus 2 recaptured)
Orange-crowned Warbler - 3
Nashville Warbler - 3 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 2
Wilson's Warbler - 1
Song Sparrow - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 4
Swamp Sparrow - 13 (plus 2 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 31
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1
American Goldfinch - 1

Metro Beach banding report - September 17, 2009

2009-09-20T09:07:00.003-04:00

The nice weather continues and no major cold fronts have passed through our area at all this month. But at least the wind direction did shift to the north, though very light, for a couple of days. This may have been the reason a new batch of warblers came in, along with an influx of thrushes and some sparrows. It has been a fairly good migration so far, but with some warblers yet to appear in the nets (Orange-crowned, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped) and others still in very low numbers (Chestnut-sided, Black-and-white, and American Redstart).

Banding highlights on Thursday, September 17 included 4 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The theme of the day, however, was Firsts of Season (FOS). There were six species in this category today, all of which are shown in photos below. We had our FOS Philadelphia Vireo (and only the third since 2004), Blue Jay, Brown Creeper, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Black-throated Green Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Lincoln's Sparrow.

Hatch-year Philadelphia Vireo

After hatch-year Blue Jay

After hatch-year Brown Creeper

Hatch-year Gray-cheeked Thrush

Hatch-year male Black-throated Green Warbler

Hatch-year Palm Warbler

Hatch-year Lincoln's Sparrow

One other highlight of the day was capturing not one but TWO Northern Parulas. This makes FOUR captured this fall (oddly, all of them hatch-year females), where I'd banded only two previously since 2004, one in spring 2007 and one in fall 2007. Between 1989 and 2001 a total of 8 Northern Parulas was banded, 2 in spring and 6 in fall. So this year is officially a "good" year for this species. As I've posted photos of both individuals below, you may well ask yourself; "is he really going to post a photo of every parula he bands?". Yeah, probably.

Hatch-year female Northern Parula (1st individual)

Hatch-year female Northern Parula (2nd individual)

Interesting birds observed but not banded included the first Winter Wren and White-throated Sparrows (a few) of the season, as well as late-ish Eastern Wood-Pewee and Great Crested Flycatcher. Once again an American Woodcock flushed from "the usual spot" near the Field Nets when we arrived out there to set up, and a juvenile Great Horned Owl gave a couple begging calls near the road. A Veery was heard calling in the dark and a flyover American Pipit was also the first of the season.

I would like to thank Chris Charlebois for showing up at the last minute and making setup easier, Aaron Potts for coming all the way from Parma (100+ miles), and Tom Schlack for having a flexible schedule during the week. Banding today could not have been done without you.

====================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
THURSDAY, September 17, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:14
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 88.563
Temperature (F): 50-72
Cloud Cover: 50-10%
Wind: N @ 1-3-5 mph
Barometer: 30.29-30.25
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 86 (plus 9 recaptured and 4 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 28
Capture Rate: 111.8 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Chris Charlebois, Aaron Potts, Tom Schlack

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 4
Least Flycatcher - 1
Philadelphia Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue Jay - 1
Brown Creeper - 1
House Wren - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 4
Swainson's Thrush - 11 (plus 1 released unbanded)
[American Robin - 1 recaptured]
Gray Catbird - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Nashville Warbler - 7 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Northern Parula - 2
Magnolia Warbler - 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1
Palm Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 2
Northern Waterthrush - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 12 (plus 2 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 3
Song Sparrow - 9 (plus 4 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 2
Red-winged Blackbird - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)
American Goldfinch - 6

Metro Beach banding report - September 11 & 13, 2009

2009-09-15T13:51:00.003-04:00

Since the beginning of September, the weather across southern Michigan has been "nice". There has been little or no rain, few clouds, little wind, and moderate temperatures. So far no strong cold fronts have passed through with the result that the migration, and resulting banding, can be characterized as "slow". I've been keeping an eye on radar observations of migrants as well as postings to a new chat group I've joined of people who monitor night flight calls of migrating songbirds. Both of these sources have shown quite clearly that significant songbird migration has been going on for the past two weeks. Such conditions are clearly great for the birds, most of which end up over-flying us or, when they land, are not bunched up and crowded into a few small patches of habitat so instead may be more dispersed. Thus the total of only 73 birds banded over the two days we recently opened the nets, Friday September 11 and Sunday September 13.

Banding highlights on Friday, September 11 included two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and this Yellow-bellied Flycatcher shown below. Empidonax flycatchers are coming through in good numbers this fall, for a change.

Hatch-year Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

A Mourning Warbler was the 10th so far this fall, a good total. Nashville and Wilson's Warblers continue to be steady captures. Among the warblers, this Magnolia Warbler was perhaps the most colorful.

Hatch-year Magnolia Warbler

The Bird Banding Lab does not allow banders to sex hatch-year Magnolia Warblers. The threshhold for any criteria to be used is that it must be 95% reliable. These birds are quite variable in a number of characters which makes them quite challenging to determine the sex. On the bird above, one could determine that it is a hatch-year based on the relatively pointed tail feathers and the fresh plumage overall. But no criterion, or set of criteria, has been published that reliably can be used to determine the sex of hatch-year Magnolia Warblers. There may be a tendency for females to have shorter and males to have longer wings. There may be a tendency for males to have large black centers on the back feathers and females to have none (with many intermediates). There may be a tendency for males to have bolder black flank streaks and females to have less or none (again with many intermediates). There may be a tendency for males to have large black centers on their upper tail coverts and females to be mostly gray (once again with many intermediates). One older publication suggested that the size and/or shape of the white spot on the second tail feather (second out from center) could be used to determine sex, but after examining hundreds of known-sex Magnolia Warblers in spring it is clear to me that this character is at least as variable as all the others, if not more! So, how do some of the "experts" determine the sex of an "immature" Magnolia Warbler from photos or in the field? I'd personally love to know, since nothing concrete has ever been published on the subject. Or, is the threshhold in the field much lower than 95%?

Interesting birds observed but not banded included two flyover Green Herons, two flyover Sharp-shinned Hawks, an American Woodcock flushed from the Field Net area before we set up, and a juvenile Great Horned Owl begging in the woods.

Banding highlights for Sunday, September 13 included 6 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, one of which I'm releasing in the photo below.

Hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
(Photo by Jerrry McHale)

The first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the fall was a surprise as it seems a little early for them.

After hatch-year male Ruby-crowned Kinglet
(Photo by Jerry McHale)

Another surprise was an Indigo Bunting, which we only rarely catch in the fall and infrequently catch in spring as well. This dull bird was a real head-scratcher for most of the banding assistants as hatch-year females are quite nondescript.

Hatch-year female Indigo Bunting

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Cooper's Hawk, two Common Nighthawks over the woods while we were setting up in the field, a Gray-cheeked Thrush overhead in the dark while in the field along with a few Swainson's, single Magnolia and Black-throated Blue Warblers, a few flyover Bobolinks, and at least two Purple Finches in the tree at the center of the Field Nets.

I would like to thank the volunteers who made banding on these two days possible: Chris Charlebois, Dave Furi, Jean Gramlich, Thierry Lach, Jerry McHale, Tom Schlack, and Sue Wright.

====================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
FRIDAY, September 11, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:07
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:00
Hours Open: 6.00
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 75.188
Temperature (F): 63-73
Cloud Cover: 50-25%
Wind: NE-SE @ 1-5 mph
Barometer: 30.22-30.29
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 35 (plus 11 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 62.5 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Chris Charlebois, Jean Gramlich, Jerry McHale, Tom Schlack, Sue Wright

Ruby-throated Hummingbird -2 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 1
House Wren - 1 (plus 4 recaptured)
Swainson's Thrush - 6
Gray Catbird - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Nashville Warbler - 5
Magnolia Warbler - 2
Ovenbird - 1
Mourning Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 7 (plus 2 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 3
Song Sparrow - 2 (plus 4 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 2

-------------------------------------
SUNDAY, September 13, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:09
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:00
Hours Open: 6.00
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 74.063
Temperature (F): 55-75
Cloud Cover: 20-0-50%
Wind: Calm-NW @ 0-5-7 mph
Barometer: 30.18-30.17
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 38 (plus 9 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 13
Capture Rate: 64.8 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Dave Furi, Thierry Lach, Jerry McHale

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Least Flycatcher - 2
[House Wren - 2 recaptured]
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 5
Gray Catbird - 1
Nashville Warbler - 3
Ovenbird - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 8 (plus 4 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 2
Song Sparrow - 4 (plus 4 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Indigo Bunting - 1

Metro Beach banding report - September 3, 5 & 6

2009-09-07T21:19:00.001-04:00

There were some interesting lessons in variation and expectations provided by birds captured this past week.

Banding studies, among others, have collected much of the data that has shown that adult songbirds of many species depart for their wintering grounds earlier than their young. Local banders then form expectations of what age classes should be migrating through their area at given times. My own expectations regarding the migration of Tennessee Warblers was that the migration of adults was mainly earlier than I typically start the banding season since they're captured in late July around Kalamazoo, but also that perhaps adults may not pass through southeastern Michigan in large numbers as they are mainly a circum-Gulf migrant on their way to Central America. At Kalamazoo, these early adults are often found molting their flight and body feathers, and may be undergoing what is termed a "molt migration" where the adults migrate a short distance away from breeding grounds to an area where they finish molting (called "staging") before continuing south. One of these Tennessee Warblers is shown in the photo below.

Second-year female Tennessee Warbler

She was molting some of her body feathers which gives her the untidy appearance. She is also molting her wing feathers, which are a bit odd looking in this photo. Taking a closer look at her spread wing, below, we can see that she is growing in her inner secondaries and the outermost primary.

Same second-year female Tennessee Warbler

This is entirely what would be expected, as the typical molt pattern of many songbirds is to start with the outermost secondaries and innermost primaries, and molt outward from the center. This individual appears to have nearly completed its molt. Another second-year female Tennessee Warbler was somewhat different. As you can see from the photo below, her body feathers appear more disorderly, suggesting more extensive molt.

Another second-year female Tennessee Warbler

Now, my expectation might be for the molt to be occurring closer to the center of the wing...involving outer secondaries and inner primaries. But the photo of her wing, below, shows something I didn't expect.

Same second-year female Tennessee Warbler

While it is the outer secondaries that are molting, it is also the outer primaries that are molting! This points out very clearly that even things we understand fairly well are not always set in stone, can sometimes vary between individuals, and suggests there's more we can learn. The apparent lateness of the molt of these birds might be telling us something too.

So, on to this week's banding highlights. A total of 175 birds was banded on the three days covered in this report. This included 13 flycatchers of 4 species, 8 thrushes of 2 species, and 69 warblers of 12 species.

Banding highlights on Thursday, September 3 included 12 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (though still very little Jewelweed blooming due to heavy deer browse), a single Marsh Wren, and two Mourning Warblers. Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Green Heron flying over, still-singing Warbling Vireo, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher continuing to tease me by not being captured. A single male Baltimore Oriole made a brief appearance in the tree at the center of the Field Nets.

Banding highlights on Saturday, September 5 included 8 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and 5 Least Flycatchers which oddly were the only flycatcher species captured today. The individual in the photo below is one of the more clearly marked, showing its big, grayish head contrasting with greenish-olive back, and bold white teardrop-shaped eyering.

Hatch-year Least Flycatcher

Two Red-eyed Vireos were also quite welcome, especially in light of the severe reduction in captures since 2004, compared with the 1989-2000 data. Shrub cover has changed not in height, but in species composition, and I fear that what's left (lots of Multiflora Rose) is not suitable for feeding and foraging songbirds, making the area less important for migrants stopping over. Banders can easily age Red-eyed Vireos by their eye color, bright red in adults and brown in hatch-years. This should also be possible by birders in the field.

After hatch-year Red-eyed Vireo

Hatch-year Red-eyed Vireo

Probably the highlight of the day was a hatch-year female Northern Parula, only the second I've banded at Metro Beach since 2004 (the first one was in spring 2005), and only the 10th one overall (between 1989-2000 there were 8 banded, 2 in spring, 6 in fall). They are beautiful little birds, even the "duller" young females.

Hatch-year female Northern Parula

Interesting birds observed, but not banded, included flyover flocks of Double-crested Cormorants, another flyover Green Heron, and a young Great Horned Owl calling briefly in the morning darkness.

Banding highlights on Sunday, September 6 included 8 more Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, an Eastern Wood-Pewee (4th for the season!), two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, one more Red-eyed Vireo, and an adult male Mourning Warbler, which was unexpected as adults should have mostly moved through by now. Is this telling us something? With such a small sample size, there's no way to know. But in the fall season of 2007 I was noticing an unusually high proportion of adult (AHY) to young (HY) White-throated Sparrows. This was based on a much greater sample size, and was well-correlated with banding results at the Rouge River Bird Observatory that same fall. Lower productivity? Changes in migration routes or timing?

After hatch-year male Mourning Warbler

And another surprise today, yet another hatch-year female Northern Parula. I've included a photo of her here as well, not just because they're cool, but to allow individual variations of these two same-age, same-sex birds to be compared.

Hatch-year female Northern Parula

American Goldfinches also staged a major influx, with the 23 banded today nearly tripling the season total to date. That will change significantly through the end of the month and into October.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included 2 flyover Green Herons, a Great Crested Flycatcher, and still-singing Warbling Vireos, while the flocks of Cedar Waxwings present through August seem to have departed.

Also today, an interesting insect encounter is worthy of note, especially as I got a photo of the critter! As we were closing up the nets, I noticed a large-ish black and yellow thing flopping around in one of them. On closer examination, I could see what it was. A Pigeon Horntail (Tremex columba), nearly two-inches in length. I managed to get it out of the net, and into a bird bag without injury to it, or me! Back at the car I took photos, the best of which is below.

Pigeon Horntail (Tremex columba)

This is perhaps only the 5th Pigeon Horntail I've ever seen in my life. The first was when I was maybe 10 years old and one of the other neighborhood kids got stung by one. I only remember that he'd killed it, and I took the dead thing home and identified it using my little Golden Guide insect book by Herbert S. Zim. After a few photos, it awkwardly took off and flew back into the swamp. This is generally a solitary species, and the "horn" at the end of the abdomen assists the female in laying her eggs in decaying wood which is how they feed until they're adult. Cool bug!

I would like to thank all the very helpful banding assistants who came out on these three days. It was a delight having more than two people helping each day as it lightened the load for everyone. Thanks to Barb Adams, John Bieganowski, Terri Chapdelaine, Chris Goulart, Amanda Grimm, Dave Lancaster, Harry Lau, Rose Lau, Ava Lau, Tessa Lau, Tom Schlack, and Joan Tisdale.

====================

Banding Data
-------------------------------------
THURSDAY, September 3, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:59
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:00
Hours Open: 6.00
No. of Nets: 5.50-13.75
Net Hours: 77.438
Temperature (F): 54-70
Cloud Cover: 0-10%
Wind: Calm-SE @ 0-5 mph
Barometer: 30.27-30.25
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 42 (plus 16 recaptured and 3 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 19
Capture Rate: 78.8 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack, Joan Tisdale

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Least Flycatcher - 2
[House Wren - 1 recaptured and 1 released unbanded]
Marsh Wren - 1
Veery - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 2
[Gray Catbird - 1 released unbanded]
Cedar Waxwing - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
American Redstart - 1
Mourning Warbler - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 6 (plus 5 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Wilson's Warbler - 2
Song Sparrow - 3 (plus 9 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 2
-------------------------------------
SATURDAY, September 5, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:01
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 87.313
Temperature (F): 57-76
Cloud Cover: 0-20%
Wind: Calm-SE @ 0-5 mph
Barometer: 30.30-30.31
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 55 (plus 9 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 20
Capture Rate: 74.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Lau Family (Harry, Rose, Ava, and Tessa)

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 8 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Least Flycatcher - 5
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
House Wren - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 4
Gray Catbird - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Nashville Warbler - 4
NORTHERN PARULA - 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Magnolia Warbler - 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 6
American Redstart - 2
Ovenbird - 1
Mourning Warbler - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Common Yellowthroat - 3 (plus 4 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 1
Song Sparrow - 6 (plus 4 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 2
American Goldfinch - 1

-------------------------------------

SUNDAY, September 6, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:02
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 86.375
Temperature (F): 57-77
Cloud Cover: 20%
Wind: Calm-E @ 0-5 mph
Barometer: 30.35-30.32
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 78 (plus 7 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 22
Capture Rate: 99.6 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Barb Adams, Terri Chapdelaine, Chris Goulart, Amanda Grimm.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 8
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 2
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Least Flycatcher - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 1
House Wren - 3
Swainson's Thrush - 1
[American Robin - 1 recaptured]
Nashville Warbler - 12 (plus 1 released unbanded)
NORTHERN PARULA - 1
Magnolia Warbler - 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Northern Waterthrush - 2
Mourning Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 7 (plus 4 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 3
Song Sparrow - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 23

Metro Beach Banding Report - August 23 & 27, 2009

2009-08-30T19:45:00.002-04:00

THE WARBLERS HAVE ARRIVED!

Every year, right around August 25, southeastern Michigan experiences the first significant push of migrant warblers, usually consisting of the more southerly breeding species of mixed deciduous-coniferous woodland, including Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, Mourning, and Canada Warblers and American Redstarts. More northerly, true "boreal" breeders were represented by Wilson's and Blackburnian Warblers. A total of 67 individual warblers of 14 species was banded on the two days, of which 52 of 14 species were banded on Thursday, August 27. Empidonax flycatchers and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds had their first good influx as well and for the first time since before 2004 we're banding good numbers of Warbling Vireos. Hopefully numbers of the other vireo species will increase as well as they've been significantly depressed for several years. We also continue to catch good numbers of Cedar Waxwings and we may be heading for a record on those.

I have also decided to reconfigure the Field Nets to avoid the Bald-faced Hornet nest that is only 8-feet away from where we originally had one of the nets. A special thanks to Aaron Potts for bringing his gas-powered weed whacker on Thursday which made clearing one more net lane so much easier. And hazardous duty was performed on Sunday by Dave Lancaster, Jerry McHale, and Dave Furi as they helped take down the nets after we'd closed them early due to a rain shower. The mosquitos were awesome, and not in a good way! I was reminded of my trips to the Arctic tundra in Alaska and Churchill, Manitoba. Perhaps volunteers should register their blood types from now on!

Banding highlights on Sunday, August 23 included 11 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, TWO Eastern Wood-Pewees (few are captured here) including an adult female showing a brood patch indicating local breeding.

After hatch-year female Eastern Wood-Pewee
(Photo by Jerry McHale)

A brightly-plumaged male Black-throated Blue Warbler was a welcome sight in the Upland Nets.

Hatch-year male Black-throated Blue Warbler

And an adult male Canada Warbler was also quite nice as typically we capture duller hatch-year birds.

After hatch-year male Canada Warbler

Ten more Cedar Waxwings and four more Baltimore Orioles put us near records for both species. Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Cooper's Hawk briefly in the tree at the center of the Field Nets, several Empidonax flycatchers (some identified by calls, some not), a Great Crested Flycatcher, and single Magnolia and Blackburnian Warblers and one Northern Waterthrush.

Banding highlights on Thursday, August 27 included 9 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a total of 17 Empidonax flycatchers with 3 Yellow-bellied, 2 Alder, 2 Willow, 5 Least, and 5 "Traill's" Flycatchers. A Veery was the first for the season. A good number of Cedar Waxwings was captured again, this time all juveniles, including more individuals with orange tail tips. One was a leucistic individual with a mostly white crest and patchy whitish feathers mainly on the head and back.

Leucistic hatch-year Cedar Waxwing

Fourteen warbler species made it an excellent day. Two Black-and-white Warblers were the first of the fall season, as was the case with several other warbler species. Both Black-and-whites were caught together in the same net, one a hatch-year male and one a hatch-year female.

Hatch-year male Black-and-white Warbler

An early species, the Blackburnian Warbler sometimes eludes capture in the fall at Metro Beach, but not today as this adult female attests.

After hatch-year female Blackburnian Warbler

Three Mourning Warblers and three Canada Warblers were good numbers for both of these early migrants. The three Yellow Warblers caught today may be the last of this very early migrant. The warbler species with the greatest numbers captured, however, was Wilson's Warbler, many of which were captured in the Field Nets.

Hatch-year female Wilson's Warbler

Interesting birds observed, but not captured included two Least Sandpipers flushing off the pile of dredge at the start of the maintenance road, several Chimney Swifts among the six species of swallows flying overhead, and a single Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that teased, but would not be caught.

Banding on these two days simply could not have been done without the help of dedicated volunteers, including David Furi, Dave Lancaster, Jerry McHale, Aaron Potts, Tom Schlack, and Joan Tisdale.

====================
Banding Data
-----------------------------
SUNDAY, August 23, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:47
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 11:15 (rain forced early closure)
Hours Open: 5.50
No. of Nets: 4.50-12.75
Net Hours: 62.625
Temperature (F): 61-66
Cloud Cover: 50-100%
Wind: NW @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 30.05-30.12
Precipitation: Rain at close
No. Banded: 70 (plus 11 recaptured and 4 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 19
Capture Rate: 135.7 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Dave Furi, Dave Lancaster, Jerry McHale

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 11 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Willow Flycatcher - 1
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Least Flycatcher - 2
Warbling Vireo - 2 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Black-capped Chickadee - 3
House Wren - 1
American Robin - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Gray Catbird - 2
Cedar Waxwing - 10
Yellow Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 12 (plus 1 recaptured)
Canada Warbler - 1
Song Sparrow - 5 (plus 7 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 6 (plus 1 recaptured)
Baltimore Oriole - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 1

-----------------------------
THURSDAY, August 27, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:52
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 4.50-12.75
Net Hours: 89.250
Temperature (F): 57-64
Cloud Cover: 95-100%
Wind: Calm-ESE @ 0-3-10 mph
Barometer: 30.21-30.20
Precipitation: Trace in P.M.
No. Banded: 115 (plus 15 recaptured and 4 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 30
Capture Rate: 150.1 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Dave Lancaster, Aaron Potts, Tom Schlack, Joan Tisdale

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 9 (plus 1 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 3
Alder Flycatcher - 2
Willow Flycatcher - 2
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 5
Least Flycatcher - 5
Warbling Vireo - 2
[Black-capped Chickadee - 1 recaptured]
House Wren - 1
Veery - 1
American Robin - 4
Cedar Waxwing - 8
Nashville Warbler - 2
Yellow Warbler - 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 5
Magnolia Warbler - 7
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 2
American Redstart - 2
Ovenbird - 5
Northern Waterthrush - 2
Mourning Warbler - 3
Common Yellowthroat - 3 (plus 2 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 11
Canada Warbler - 4
Song Sparrow - 5 (plus 11 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 7
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 1
American Goldfinch - 7

Metro Beach banding report - August 20, 2009

2009-08-24T19:36:00.003-04:00

A lack of volunteers this week allowed for only one day of banding, and nearly a weathered-out day at that! The nets were opened slightly ahead of schedule but had to be closed early as the windy conditions became worse, followed by threatening thunderstorms. One of the Field Nets became infested with Bald-faced Hornets for the second time this fall, but this time the cautious operation of cutting them out resulted in my getting stung on the arm, so this was abandoned and the net, now ruined from all the cuts, was rolled up into the bag with the hornets still stuck. Few birds were captured today, but the subtle beauty of a young Mourning Warbler was definitely a highlight.

Hatch-year female Mourning Warbler

We continue to catch Cedar Waxwings, mostly out in the field nets, and individuals with orange tail tips are still being noted, as there is quite a bit of Autumn Olive in that area. Interesting birds observed but not banded included two Least Sandpipers and two Ruddy Turnstones, but along the beach well away from the banding area.

This summer has been rather poor throughout Michigan, and Ohio too, for dragonflies. Thus it has been of interest that a large species seems to have emerged recently at Metro Beach. I believe that they are Shadow Darners (Aeschna umbrosa), but it is possible they could also be Black-tipped Darners (Aeschna tuberculifera). Photos of a male and female, both removed alive from the mist nets, are below.

Probable male Shadow Darner

Probable female Shadow Darner

Thanks very much to the volunteers who made banding possible: Dave Lancaster and Joan Tisdale.

====================
Banding Data
-----------------------------
THURSDAY, August 20, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:44
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 10:45
Hours Open: 5.00
No. of Nets: 5.50-13.75
Net Hours: 62.375
Temperature (F): 72-77
Cloud Cover: 70-100%
Wind: S-SW @ 7-10-20 mph
Barometer: 29.84-29.77
Precipitation: None, thunderstorms threatening at close
No. Banded: 17 (plus 4 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 12
Capture Rate: 96.5 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Dave Lancaster, Joan Tisdale

Downy Woodpecker - 1
Alder Flycatcher - 1
[House Wren - 1 released unbanded]
Gray Catbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 5
Yellow Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 1
Mourning Warbler - 1
[Common Yellowthroat - 1 recaptured, 1 released unbanded]
Song Sparrow - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 1

Metro Beach banding report - August 13 & 15, 2009

2009-08-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

Mid-August is a time of transition at Metro Beach, where many juvenile birds are still in the area and a few early fall migrants are beginning to move through. Both of these scenarios played out on the two days of banding this past week. A total of 124 birds was banded, plus 12 more recaptured and 4 released unbanded.
Juvenile sparrows can be a challenge. Both Song and Swamp Sparrows are common here, and both species were captured in good numbers on both days. The central breast spot so characteristic of adult Song Sparrows is absent in juveniles, while the streaks on the breast of juvenile Swamp Sparrows is quite different from the unstreaked breasts of adults. At times, wing formulas had to be determined to figure out which species was in-hand at the moment. Another useful characteristic is the bold, triangular whisker mark below a white malar of the Song Sparrow versus the narrow whisker mark below a buffy malar of the Swamp Sparrow. Photos of juveniles of both species are shown below.

Hatch-year Song Sparrow

Hatch-year Swamp Sparrow

This juvenile Common Grackle was molting into its first basic plumage which is represented by the patches of iridescent feathers among the juvenile grayish feathers, and of course this bird, a female determined by wing length, had not attained the bright yellow eye of an older bird. Also, you can see in the photo below the sharp protrusion from the roof of the mouth that may be used to crack nuts and acorns, and which is very painful if they manage to grab your finger with this!

Hatch-year female Common Grackle

It is shaping up to be a good fall season for banding Cedar Waxwings. A group of 10-30 is always present in the trees above the Field Nets and multiples were captured on both days this past week including both adults and juveniles. One of the adults had orange-tipped tail feathers instead of the typical yellow, which has been attributed to dietary causes, including their consumption of Autumn Olive berries during the growth of those feathers. There are quite a few Autumn Olive trees inside the Field Net setup.

After hatch-year female Cedar Waxwing with orange tail tips.

On Thursday, August 13, banding highlights included two Baltimore Orioles, several Empidonax flycatchers (3 Willows, 2 Leasts, and 2 "Traill's"), and the migrants of the day, 2 Northern Waterthrushes.

Hatch-year Northern Waterthrush

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (nested nearby?), an American Redstart, and a Canada Warbler.

On Saturday, August 15, the banding highlights included the first Yellow-bellied Flycatcher of the season.

After hatch-year Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

But the most interesting bird of the week, perhaps of the month, was only the third Olive-sided Flycatcher ever banded at Metro Beach. The first was in spring 1992 and the second was in spring 1996, so this is also the first ever banded in fall, and a personal first as well. It was an adult bird based on the duller edgings on the wing coverts (hatch-year would be buffy) and also based on the streaking below shown well in the second photo (though the lens of the camera exaggerates the size of the bill). The wing length measurement determined the bird to be female.

After hatch-year female Olive-sided Flycatcher

After hatch-year female Olive-sided Flycatcher

Interesting birds observed but not banded included an Eastern Screech-Owl calling at about 11:00 a.m., and a Northern Waterthrush calling back in the swamp.

Thanks very much to the volunteer banding assistants who made banding on these two days possible: Dave Lancaster, Tracy McMullen, Joan Tisdale, and Roy and Myrna Weichner.

====================
Banding Data
-----------------------------
THURSDAY, August 13, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:37
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 5.50-13.75
Net Hours: 92.188
Temperature (F): 63-82
Cloud Cover: 0%
Wind: WNW @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 30.19-30.22
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 81 (plus 4 recaptured and 4 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 16
Capture Rate: 96.5 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Dave Lancaster, Joan Tisdale

Downy Woodpecker - 1
Willow Flycatcher - 3
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 2
Least Flycatcher - 2
Warbling Vireo - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 1
American Robin - 7 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Gray Catbird - 5
Cedar Waxwing - 4
Yellow Warbler - 5
Northern Waterthrush - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 5 (plus 1 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Song Sparrow - 13 (plus 2 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 12 (plus 1 recaptured)
Red-winged Blackbird - 13 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Common Grackle - 3
Baltimore Oriole - 2

-----------------------------
SATURDAY, August 15, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:39
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:15
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.0
No. of Nets: 5.50-13.75
Net Hours: 89.875
Temperature (F): 68-84
Cloud Cover: 20%
Wind: S-SE @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 30.20-30.19
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 43 (plus 8 recaptured)
No. of Species: 16
Capture Rate: 56.7 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Tracy McMullen, Roy Weichner, Myrna Weichner
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2
[Hairy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER - 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1
Alder Flycatcher - 1
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Warbling Vireo - 1
House Wren - 4
[American Robin - 1 recaptured]
Cedar Waxwing - 6
Yellow Warbler - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 12 (plus 4 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 7
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
[Baltimore Oriole - 1 recaptured]

Fall Banding. Yes, Fall Banding!

2009-08-07T17:31:00.011-04:00

Believe it or not, its that time of year again. Some birders are aware that Arctic shorebirds begin migrating southward during July and head out to the nearest mudflats and beaches to see them. But the beginnings of songbird migration goes largely unnoticed. I have been opening the banding station at Metro Beach Metropark, Macomb County, Michigan the first week of August partly to sample the population of young birds produced during the summer on the edge of Point Rosa Marsh, but also to begin banding near the very start of songbird migration. And both days spent banding this week delivered both young birds hatched locally and migrants from northern Michigan and beyond.

On Sunday, August 2, an eager group of 7 volunteers, plus me, started out late in the morning (8 a.m.) clearing the net lanes and getting them ready for the banding season. Most of the net lanes were in good shape, so only needed a branch or two trimmed, but the trail out to the Field Nets, and the net lanes out there, had become quite overgrown as they always do. Thankfully, this year a new volunteer, Aaron Potts, brought two gas-powered weed-whackers and cut a couple hours off our labors. So, the nets were opened a little before lunchtime and kept open for about 4 hours. The banding highlights today included three Cedar Waxwings, which we don't catch every year.

After hatch-year female Cedar Waxwing

A single Eastern Wood-Pewee and two Warbling Vireos were other infrequently banded species, and which we usually only band in early August. The biggest surprise was the capture of not one, but two Swainson's Thrushes. This species nests more than 100 miles north of here, so were definitely early migrants. A single Ruby-throated Hummingbird banded was also a highlight, as any day banding a hummingbird is a good day!

On Tuesday, August 4, a good number of Yellow Warblers was captured, probably the last day where there will be a high count of these and several showed fat deposits indicating that they were migrants and not summer residents. Juvenile sparrows made a good showing, with lots of young Song Sparrows and a few Swamp Sparrows. Their plumages were confusing enough that I had to resort to assessing the wing formula given in the Pyle Guide we use for banding. A juvenile flycatcher was captured today too, out at the Field Nets where a pair of Willow Flycatchers has clearly nested. This youngster had a short tail, wings, and bill, which means that the measurements necessary to confirm it as a Willow Flycatcher could not be made.

Hatch-year Willow Flycatcher

Another highlight was the capture of two Marsh Wrens. They breed in the marsh and are present during May, but for some reason we never, never catch them in spring...only in fall.

Hatch-year Marsh Wren

Migrants were once again captured today, with a Swainson's Thrush originally banded on Sunday recaptured, and a surprisingly early Tennessee Warbler. This species apparently is one of few passerines known to undertake a "molt migration", departing the breeding grounds early for a staging area where they molt before continuing their migration. Today's bird was a second-year female, as indicated by very worn plumage and other characteristics. And she had apparently very recently departed the breeding grounds as her brood patch was still very well developed. Very few Tennessee Warblers nest in Michigan, and well to the north of Metro Beach. These early second-year female Tennessee Warblers have been turning up at the banding stations of the Kalamazoo Nature Center for years but this is the first time one has turned up here.

Second-year female Tennessee Warbler

Many thanks to the hard working volunteers who helped clear the net lanes on Sunday, and who helped set up and operate the station on Tuesday: Dave Furi, Andy Johnson, Thierry Lach, Aaron Potts, Renee Render, Amanda Sheehy, Jason St. Pierre, Cathy Thiesen, and joan Tisdale.

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Banding Data

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SUNDAY, August 2, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:25
Time Open (E.S.T.): 8:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 4.50
No. of Nets: 3.75-13.75
Net Hours: 44.125
Temperature (F): 68-73
Cloud Cover: 20-40%
Wind: W @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 29.93-29.95
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 23 (plus 6 recaptured)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 65.7 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Dave Furi, Thierry Lach, Aaron Potts, Renee Render, Amanda Sheehy, Jason St. Pierre, Joan Tisdale

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Warbling Vireo - 2
Black-capped Chickadee - 1
House Wren - 3
Swainson's Thrush - 2
American Robin - 2
Gray Catbird - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Cedar Waxwing - 3
Yellow Warbler - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)

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TUESDAY, August 4, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:27
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:00
Hours Open: 6.0
No. of Nets: 5.50-13.75
Net Hours: 76.125
Temperature (F): 73-81
Cloud Cover: 60-80%
Wind: SW @ 5-10 mph
Barometer: 29.90-29.87
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 46 (plus 10 recaptured)
No. of Species: 16
Capture Rate: 73.6 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers: Andy Johnson, Cathy Thiesen

Downy Woodpecker - 2
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Warbling Vireo - 1
House Wren - 1
Marsh Wren - 2
[Swainson's Thrush - 1 recaptured]
American Robin - 1
Gray Catbird - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 14 (plus 3 recaptured)
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 14 (plus 4 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 3
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
Baltimore Oriole

Summer 2009 Hummingbird Banding

2009-08-03T15:24:00.003-04:00

I have been offline for a while, doing a lot of different things, including banding hummingbirds. I got a late start, not banding any until late June, but I made up some ground and have banded more this summer than in any previous summer, with 364 banded. Of course, to compare with other years, the number of birds per trap-hour is the best measurement, and this summer's 6.5 per trap hour is perhaps slightly below average. Some banding sites have had greater numbers than usual, while a couple of sites have produced far fewer birds than normal. This seems to be the case every summer, with local ups-and-downs for one summer at most. At the end of September, I'll have a better idea of how the numbers stack up.

On July 25, the Third Annual Michigan Hummingbird Festival was held at the River Lake Inn Restaurant near Colon, and good crowds estimated at 700+ turned out, and a record 51 hummingbirds was banded, in addition to 5 recaptured that were banded in previous years (3 from 2008, 2 from 2007 and 1 from 2006).

200th Species for Naked Birding List

2009-07-04T08:43:00.015-04:00

On June 21, 2009, Nancy and I went up to the Deckerville area in Sanilac County, Michigan where we were to begin our USFWS Breeding Bird Survey route (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/) a little after 5 a.m. We've done this route every year since 1992, and other routes off-and-on since 1978. In the dark, I heard a Sedge Wren singing, and thus added it as the 200th species on my 2009 Naked Birding list for Michigan:

Click to hear my Sedge Wren recording

Naked Birding? Perhaps a little explanation is in order here!

Late last fall, a birder posted to the Ohio-Birds chat group that he was going to do a "naked birding" list in Ohio in 2009. His description of the list intrigued me, and I decided to do one of my own for Michigan in 2009. Despite what it sounds like, it is not going out au-natural looking for birds. It is intended to test your birding skills using only your naked eyes and naked ears, no optical or audio assistance (i.e., no binoculars, scopes, cameras, or listening devices).

As a long-time "ear-birder" I was up for the challenge!

From January through March, many birds were added based on visual observation at close range, or based on long-distance visual characters I've learned over the years. But beginning with spring migration, as expected, the bulk of my new Naked List birds were heard only, as singing birds flooded into the state. It was frustrating to not be able to add such rarities as White-faced Ibis, present and found in both Wayne and Washtenaw counties, because they were simply too distant to identify with the naked eye. That was my rule, that I must be able to IDENTIFY it with my naked eye, not just SEE it. Seeing a distant White-faced Ibis, identifying it through binoculars or a scope, then "counting" it after that ID was made was not allowed. That would be cheating.

In late April, a flock of Smith's Longspurs was being seen in Berrien County in the southwestern corner of the state. Being familar with the species already, though not having it on my Michigan list, I went over and found a field full of singing and calling Smith's Longspurs (and only one Lapland!). This identification was based on the songs and calls, with which I am familiar, but just to seal the deal a beautiful breeding-plumaged adult male landed on a patch of corn stubble just 30-feet away, making a visual ID easy too.

During the month of May, many new species were added based mainly on vocalizations, many quite beautiful as many birders already know.

Click to hear my Hooded Warbler recording

Click to hear my Mourning Warbler recording

Click to hear my American Redstart recording

Click to hear my Black-and-white Warbler recording

Click to hear my Cerulean Warbler recording

Click to hear my Canada Warbler recording

Click to hear my Chestnut-sided Warbler recording

Click to hear my Magnolia Warbler recording

Click to hear my Wood Thrush recording

Click to hear my Yellow-throated Vireo recording

Click to hear my Bobolink recording

Click to hear my Scarlet Tanager recording

On June 4th, I was finally able to head back to Berrien County where the state's first ever Fish Crow had been seen since late May, but mostly "it" was being heard. I arrived in the area well before sunrise so that I could try to find the Chuck-will's-widow that was present nearby for the 4th or 5th year in a row. It was fairly easy to find this bird, and I managed a decent, if not quiet recording, a short portion of which can be heard below:

Click to hear my Chuck-will's-widow recording

At the Forest Lawn Landfill, Three Oaks Township, I managed to see and hear at least one Fish Crow calling and flying overhead in my first hour on site. During the second hour, things got more interesting as it was obvious multiple Fish Crows were present, and my recordings help prove this.

Click to hear my Fish Crow recording

On June 7, species 199 for the list was another Wren, this one a first for my state list as well (and only the 9th for the state overall), a Rock Wren found while I was leading a Washtenaw Audubon Society field trip to the Port Huron State Game Area! Although it wasn't close enough to identify when initially found, it not only approached to within 10-feet, but even sang a few times!

The next challenge for my Naked Birding list will be shorebirds. I haven't done much yet this year as far as this challenging group, and I'll need to brush up on shorebird vocalizations if I hope to add more than just a couple to the list. Stay tuned.

Metro Beach Spring 2009 Banding Summary

2009-06-11T10:24:00.004-04:00

The spring 2009 banding season has come to a close, and I have tallied up the general results, which I'll present here. More details will be available in the coming weeks as I compile the full report, which will be posted at www.amazilia.net/MetroBeachBanding/

A total of 773 new birds of 60 species was banded. There were 117 individuals of 18 species that returned from previous years, including at least two that were banded in 2004. An American Goldfinch banded on 28 September 2008 as a hatch-year female was recaptured on 6 June 2009 at a banding station on Walpole Island, Ontario, Canada. Banding was conducted on 16 days between April 5 and June 6, with a total of 1241.13 net hours, and an overall capture rate of 84.4 birds per 100 net hours.

Banding Totals:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Downy Woodpecker - 5 (plus 5 returns)
Hairy Woodpecker - 2 (plus 1 return)
Northern Flicker - 4
Alder Flycatcher - 6
Willow Flycatcher - 3
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 3
Least Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 5
Eastern Kingbird - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Warbling Vireo - 3 (plus 1 return)
Blue Jay - 8
Tree Swallow - 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 1 (plus 11 returns)
Brown Creeper - 11
[Carolina Wren - 1 return]
House Wren - 7 (plus 1 return)
Winter Wren - 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11
Veery - 9
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 12
Hermit Thrush - 28
Wood Thrush - 2
American Robin - 31 (plus 4 returns)
Gray Catbird - 20 (plus 1 return)
Brown Thrasher - 1
Nashville Warbler - 7
Yellow Warbler - 59 (plus 20 returns)
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Magnolia Warbler - 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 8
Black-throated Green Warbler - 2
Palm Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 4
Ovenbird - 8
Northern Waterthrush - 8
Mourning Warbler - 3
Common Yellowthroat - 13 (plus 6 returns)
Wilson's Warbler - 13
Canada Warbler - 2
Northern Cardinal - 5 (plus 3 returns)
Eastern Towhee - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 7
Savannah Sparrow - 1
Fox Sparrow - 5
Song Sparrow - 26 (plus 17 returns)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 6
Swamp Sparrow - 63 (plus 1 return)
White-throated Sparrow - 51
White-crowned Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 166 (plus 17 returns)
Common Grackle - 24 (plus 1 return)
Brown-headed Cowbird - 8 (plus 4 returns)
Baltimore Oriole - 14 (plus 4 returns)
American Goldfinch - 55 (plus 19 returns)
House Sparrow - 2

Metro Beach banding report - June 5 & 6, 2009

2009-06-08T10:48:00.017-04:00

The final week of spring banding in the first week of June always brings anticipation of some last, late migrants, as well as the possibility of capturing some of the first fledged young birds of the year. Both expectations were met on these last two days, and the unusually dry conditions resulting in almost no standing water made getting around much easier for a change. Midges, which usually hatch during the peak of warbler migration, finally hatched this week with clouds of them in the banding area but with few migrants to take advantage. Record numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds (166), Yellow Warblers (60), and Baltimore Orioles (14) were banded this spring, and independent fledgling American Robins and Common Grackle were captured this week. Details of the few (very few) late migrants banded and observed this week also follows in the detail below.

Banding highlights from Friday, June 5 included an impressive 24 Red-winged Blackbirds, many of them females. It gave us an opportunity to examine one character to age them (second-year vs. after second-year) which can often be seen in the field. Second-year (SY) female Red-winged Blackbirds typically have entirely or mostly white throats as in the top photo below, while after second-year (ASY) females are often washed with peach-yellow on the throat as in the bottom photo below. The amount of reddish in the shoulders of females varies quite a bit, and is not a particularly good indicator of age, though I do see more of it on ASY birds.

Red-winged Blackbird, second-year female

Red-winged Blackbird, after second-year female.

And always a highlight, two Baltimore Orioles, a male and female were banded today bringing the season total up to a record of 13 (one more was banded on June 6).

Baltimore Oriole, after second-year male.

The lone tardy spring migrant captured today was of a quite unexpected species, a Hermit Thrush. Before today, the last one banded was on May 10, which is about normal for the last one of these. Their migration typically peaks in this area the last week of April and the first week of May. This bird appeared to be in good health, and had some fat deposits, which would be expected on a migrant.

Hermit Thrush, after hatch-year

Additional banding highlights included a Hairy Woodpecker. Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Green Heron in trees over the Field Edge net, a calling Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, persistently singing Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos. A quick examination of the nest box near the Field Nets revealed four recently hatched young and an unhatched egg.

Banding highlights from Saturday, June 6 included another late thrush, this one a Swainson's, though this species has been banded here in early June in other years so is more expected.

Swainson's Thrush, after hatch-year

Additional banding highlights included a recently fledged Common Grackle, which was interesting in that it was still showing subtle signs of the fleshy gape corners typical of nestlings, as well as a dull yellow eye and almost no iridescence, different from what is expected in adults.

Common Grackle, hatch-year

Other banding highlights included two female Northern Flickers, including one that had clearly taken a dust bath just before getting caught in the nets. Blowing on the breast feathers to check her for a brood patch produced a big cloud of dust! Perhaps in a moment of silliness due to it being the last banding day of the spring, I nicknamed her "dusty". Five Empidonax flycatchers of the difficult "Traill's" species pair were banded today, and surpisingly all of them keyed out; 3 were Alder and 2 were Willow. It seems that the migration of these species may continue into early June most years. Also, an Empidonax flycatcher that was banded last week was recaptured today for the second time since it was banded. It has been singing fitz-bew out by the field nets and has been observed wearing a band, so he has now informally earned the nickname of Willie the Willow Flycatcher! Of course, I had to take a photo...

Willow Flycatcher, after hatch-year male

One of the last birds captured today was a female Carolina Wren, originally banded as an after hatch-year of unknown sex on 22 May 2006, recaptured again in fall 2006, again in spring and fall 2007 when she was first determined to be female based on the presence of a brood patch as she had today, and recaptured once more in fall of 2008. She was the only Carolina Wren captured this spring as the activity of this species in the park, based on singing birds, appears to be concentrated away from the banding area at the southwest corner of Point Rosa Marsh and the southern end of Cherry Lane just outside the park.

Carolina Wren, after 4th year female

Tessa Lau, our youngest volunteer, releases the female Carolina Wren as regular volunteer Joan Tisdale looks on.

Encouraging the young and educating the public are important objectives, additional to our research, which provides park staff and land managers with information about the natural treasures that use this park. Hopefully I, and the very helpful volunteers this spring, have accomplished some of that.

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included flyover Cedar Waxwings and a single Wilson's Warbler which was quite late.

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding on these two days possible: John Bieganowski, David Furi, Dave Lancaster, Harry Lau, Rose Lau, Tessa Lau, and Joan Tisdale.

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Banding Data: ==========================================================

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 4:56 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:30

Hours Open: 7.75

No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25

Net Hours: 96.313

Temperature (F): 43-73

Sky: 0% cloud cover

Wind: NW-SW @ 0-3-7 mph

Barometer: 30.03 - 29.98

Precipitation: None

No. Banded: 46 (plus 25 recaptured and 6 released unbanded)

No. of Species: 15

Capture Rate: 79.9 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster

[Downy Woodpecker - 2 recaptured]

Hairy Woodpecker - 1

Alder Flycatcher - 1

[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]

[House Wren - 1 recaptured]

HERMIT THRUSH - 1

American Robin - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)

Gray Catbird - 1 (plus 3 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Yellow Warbler - 3 (plus 7 recaptured)

Common Yellowthroat - 2

[Song Sparrow - 3 recaptured]

Red-winged Blackbird - 24 (plus 5 recaptured and 3 released unbanded)

Common Grackle - 6 (plus 2 released unbanded)

[Brown-headed Cowbird - 1 recaptured]

Baltimore Oriole - 2

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SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 4:56 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 96.188
Temperature (F): 52-64
Sky: 10-0% cloud cover
Wind: NE-E @ 5-7-10 mph
Barometer: 30.03 - 30.09
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 39 (plus 12 recaptured)
No. of Species: 13
Capture Rate: 53.0 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: David Furi, Harry Lau, Rose Lau, Tessa Lau, Joan Tisdale

Northern Flicker - 2

Alder Flycatcher 3

Willow Flycatcher - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)

[Carolina Wren - 1 recaptured]

House Wren - 1

Swainson's Thrush - 1

American Robin - 8 (plus 1 recaptured)

Gray Catbird - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Yellow Warbler - 6

Song Sparrow - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)

Red-winged Blackbird - 9 (plus 5 recaptured)

Common Grackle - 3

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1

Baltimore Oriole - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Metro Beach banding report - May 29, 2009

2009-05-31T20:11:00.016-04:00

Although there is likely another week of migration activity, the spring songbird migration is coming to an end. This was represented nicely by the females captured today. As many birders know, the males migrate north first to establish and claim the best territories, and the females often follow later. The unusually large number of birds released unbanded today was due to the escapes of blackbirds and grackles from the nets just as we arrived to extract them. There will be one more banding report, hopefully covering two more banding days in the first week of June where we may capture a few more late warblers, and possibly more Empidonax flycatchers.

Banding highlights for Friday, May 29 included several Wilson's Warblers, including three females.

Second-year female Wilson's Warbler

Only the second Canada Warbler of the spring was captured, this one also a female.

After hatch-year female Canada Warbler

And an American Redstart was captured also, but this one was a male despite being in gray, white, and yellow plumage. Some birders don't realize that this species takes two years to attain the black and orange 'adult' male plumage, and so pass off a lot of second-year (first year in field guide terminology) males. This individual would be easily sexed as male in the field by noting the black blotches on the crown and especially in front of the eye, which females do not show. And of course these second-year males sing, which females do not do.

Second-year male American Redstart

A male Mourning Warbler and a female Magnolia Warbler rounded out the migrant warblers captured today. It was another good day for Red-winged Blackbirds (the season total is now 133, well ahead of last year's record of 92). And three Common Grackles were captured on the last net run, including this nicely iridescent male, which took a good hunk of flesh out of one of my fingers during the brief photo session!

After second-year male Common Grackle

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a rather late Black-and-white Warbler that was unusual for another reason. It appeared to be a melanistic individual, as it was completely normal in plumage on the back, wings, and tail, but the head and breast were unusual. The crown was solid black, with no white median crown stripe, and the cheeks, throat, and breast were medium gray with no sign of streaks or the normal face pattern. Only poor photos were obtained of this odd bird, and the best of them is posted below.

Melanistic Black-and-white Warbler

Since posting this blog on May 31, I received an e-mail from Ben Coulter who forwarded me a photo of a similar Black-and-white Warbler that he photographed at Presque Isle State Park, PA, in 2003. His bird is blacker on the entire head, and shows distinct streaking on the flanks, unlike this bird.

Also of interest was a "V" of about 35 Canada Geese heading north, rather late but most likely undergoing "molt migration", as well as singing Yellow-bellied and Alder Flycatchers in the swamp and marsh. At least two Tennessee Warblers were singing in the area today too, but avoided capture (the 1990-1999 capture rate was ten times my current capture rate for this species!).

A non-avian oddity caught our attention yesterday, as sometimes happens (see the Big Brown Bat photos from a late April posting). Today, an odd "bug" was seen crawling along the road. It was originally identified by me as a dragonfly nymph, but several comments have indicated it is not. The leading contender is that it is the larva of a Predaceous Diving Beetle (Family Dysticidae). I tend to agree with this assessment. Others have called it a "helgrimite" which is a colloquial name for Dobsonfly larva (Family Corydalidae). These are entirely aquatic at this stage of their life, so seeing one crawling along the dry gravel road was bizarre. We figured it had been captured in the water by a bird (grackle?) but when it reared its fearsome head, like something out of a sci-fi movie, the bird may have dropped it into the road. I returned it to the roadside pond after taking photos and avoiding getting bitten.

Predaceous Diving Beetle larva (Dysticidae), species unknown

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding today possible: Chris Charlebois, Jean Gramlich, and Dave Lancaster.

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Banding Data: ==========================================================

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:00 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15

Hours Open: 7.50

No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25

Net Hours: 93.00

Temperature (F): 56-73

Sky: 50-0% cloud cover

Wind: WNW-W @ 3-5-12 mph

Barometer: 29.85 - 29.86

Precipitation: None

No. Banded: 36 (plus 20 recaptured and 8 released unbanded)

No. of Species: 19

Capture Rate: 68.8 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: Chris Charlebois, Jean Gramlich, Dave Lancaster

"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1

[Willow Flycatcher - 1 recaptured]

House Wren - 1

[American Robin - 2 recaptured]

Gray Catbird - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)

Yellow Warbler - 3 (plus 3 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Magnolia Warbler - 1

American Redstart - 1

Mourning Warbler - 1

Common Yellowthroat - 4 (plus 1 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Wilson's Warbler - 5

Canada Warbler - 1

[Song Sparrow - 3 recaptured]

[Swamp Sparrow - 1 recaptured]

[Northern Cardinal - 2 recaptured]

Red-winged Blackbird - 10 (plus 4 recaptured and 3 released unbanded)

Common Grackle - 3 (plus 3 released unbanded)

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1

Baltimore Oriole - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)

American Goldfinch - 1

Metro Beach banding report - May 23 & 25, 2009

2009-05-27T07:15:00.015-04:00

After an absence of thirteen days during the peak of spring migration, I was finally able to return to banding at Metro Beach thanks to the help of several volunteers. As expected, the majority of sparrows have moved through while thrushes and Empidonax flycatchers have increased somewhat. The selection of warblers was distinctly comprised of the later migrants. On a more mundane level, a new spring season record for Red-winged Blackbirds was broken on May 23 (old record was 92 from spring 2008). Typically, we catch a lot of male Red-wings in April and early May while we catch mainly females in late May into early June. We are starting to catch more females as expected, but are continuing to catch males and the season total is now in excess of 120. As the spring progresses, we are also recapturing more of the local breeding species, and so far there have been 16 Yellow Warblers banded in previous years (back to 2005), several Common Yellowthroats (back to 2006), 12 Black-capped Chickadees (back to 2005), more than a dozen American Goldfinches (back to 2006), and 4 Baltimore Orioles (back to 2004). Over these two days of banding, 131 birds were banded, with the greatest number on May 23 and the best diversity (including a couple surprises) on May 25.

Banding highlights from Saturday, May 23 included a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, an Alder Flycatcher, a Least Flycatcher, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, a Gray-cheeked Thrush, and the first American Redstarts, Mourning and Wilson's Warblers of the spring.

Mourning Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Additional banding highlights included a Gray-cheeked Thrush, a Lincoln's Sparrow, and SIX Baltimore Orioles. Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Sora calling in the marsh, singing Eastern Wood-Pewee, Yellow-bellied and Willow Flycatchers, a late Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and a few additional warblers including single Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, and Blackpoll as well as multiple singing Canada Warblers.

Banding highlights from Monday, May 25 included three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a Hairy Woodpecker, and several Empidonax flycatchers banded as "Traill's" (Willow or Alder) including one that keyed out to Alder. As many of you know, these flycatchers are very challenging, and among my favorites to band.

"Traill's" Flycatcher

Other banding highlights included a Tree Swallow, a late-ish Veery, three more Baltimore Orioles, SIX Wilson's Warblers, and the first Canada Warbler of the spring.

Canada Warbler

Later in the day, two surprises were captured. First was a Savannah Sparrow, a species quite unexpected in a marsh adjacent to a swamp, and only the second one banded here since 2004 and only the third ever (the first was in spring 1993). This is quite a beautiful sparrow up close.

Savannah Sparrow

The second surprise was an Eastern Kingbird, only the second ever banded here (the first was in spring 1999).

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

Personally, this is also only the third time I've ever banded this species; the first time was at Holiday Beach, Ontario, many years ago when I banded three in 1998 and three more in 1999. All these, however, were hatch-year birds. Today's Eastern Kingbird was an after hatch-year male and as a result showed plumage characters I'd not seen before including the hidden red crown patch typical of adults.

Eastern Kingbird crown patch

Another character that adult Eastern Kingbirds show is notching on the outer two primaries. Since this notching measured more than 8 mm, it was possible to sex this bird as male.

Eastern Kingbird, male

Interesting birds observed but not banded included three flyover Turkey Vultures, a Sora calling in the marsh, a briefly calling Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, a continuing and late Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (probably nesting by now), as well as single Bay-breasted and Blackpoll Warblers, and up to three Mourning Warblers singing all around us most of the morning.

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding on these two days possible: Elaine Attridge, Andrea Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Michael Charlebois, David Furi, Harry Lau, Rose Lau, Tessa Lau, and Jennifer Philpot-Munson.

==========================================================
Banding Data:
==========================================================

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:04 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 88.563
Temperature (F): 50-73
Sky: 10-80% cloud cover
Wind: NE-E @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 30.21 - 30.14
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 78 (plus 23 recaptured and 6 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 27
Capture Rate: 120.8 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: David Furi, Harry Lau, Rose Lau, Tessa Lau

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1

[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]

[Northern Flicker - 1 released unbanded]

Alder Flycatcher - 1

Least Flycatcher - 1

Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1

[Black-capped Chickadee - 3 recaptured]

House Wren - 1

Gray-cheeked Thrush - 1

Swainson's Thrush - 4

American Robin - 4 (plus 2 recaptured)

Gray Catbird - 6

Nashville Warbler - 1

Yellow Warbler - 8 (plus 3 recaptured)

Magnolia Warbler - 1

American Redstart - 2

Mourning Warbler - 2

Common Yellowthroat - 2 (plus 5 recaptured)

Wilson's Warbler - 2 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Song Sparrow - 1

Lincoln's Sparrow - 1

[Swamp Sparrow - 1 recaptured]

Red-winged Blackbird - 26 (plus 2 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)

Common Grackle - 4 (plus 1 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Baltimore Oriole - 6

American Goldfinch - 1 (plus 4 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MONDAY, MAY 25, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:02 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15

Hours Open: 7.50

No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25

Net Hours: 93.00

Temperature (F): 52-68

Sky: 70-20% cloud cover

Wind: NNE-E @ 3-5-10 mph

Barometer: 30.21 - 30.28

Precipitation: None

No. Banded: 53 (plus 24 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)

No. of Species: 24

Capture Rate: 84.9 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: Elaine Attridge, Andrea Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Mike Charlebois, Jennifer Philpot-Munson

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3

Downy Woodpecker - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)

Hairy Woodpecker - 1

Alder Flycatcher - 1

"Traill's" Flycatcher - 3

EASTERN KINGBIRD - 1

Tree Swallow - 1

[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]

[House Wren - 2 recaptured]

Veery - 1

Swainson's Thrush - 4

American Robin - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)

Gray Catbird - 3 (plus 2 recaptured)

Yellow Warbler - 2 (plus 5 recaptured)

Magnolia Warbler - 1

American Redstart - 1

[Common Yellowthroat - 3 recaptured]

Wilson's Warbler - 6 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Canada Warbler - 1

SAVANNAH SPARROW - 1

[Northern Cardinal - 1 recaptured]

Red-winged Blackbird - 11 (plus 2 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Common Grackle - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)

Baltimore Oriole - 3 (plus 3 recaptured)

American Goldfinch - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Metro Beach banding report - May 8-10, 2009

2009-05-11T19:06:00.013-04:00

The warblers have arrived!

The impressive total of 138 birds banded on these three days, Friday May 8 through Sunday May 10, would have been even more impressive if we hadn't been all but shut down completely by bad weather on Saturday, and had more than a partial day to band on Sunday (curtailed due to an afternoon commitment). As a result, there are more photo highlights in this installment. Who could resist these colors?

Banding highlights from Friday, May 8, included a very good number of Veeries, six to be exact, which may be a record number banded for one day here. One of the Veeries had a large, engorged tick on its neck, which I removed to be sent to a researcher studying the dispersal of Lyme Disease.

Among the 9 species of warbler banded today, among the most interesting, or at least most colorful, included a Chestnut-sided...

...a Black-throated Green...

...and my favorite, Magnolia Warbler.

The third White-eyed Vireo of the spring was not as unexpected as it might have been, since this species seems to be everywhere, and in greater numbers this spring.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Worm-eating Warbler singing from the swamp near the Upland Nets. Unfortunately we didn't catch him. We also observed Chimney Swifts, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Marsh Wren, Tennessee, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Palm, and Black-and-white Warblers.

Banding highlights from Saturday, May 9, included, well...nothing. We were only able to get 9 of the 13 nets open, and then only for less than two hours as first we got rain, then very strong winds. Very little of interest was observed, though we did see a Common Loon fly over and there was a Sora calling in the marsh, and the first Wilson's Warbler of the season singing next to the cars.

Banding highlights from Sunday, May 10, included the first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (2) of the season, obviously a big highlight for me.

Also, the first Wood Thrushes (2) of the spring were banded today.

As on Friday, 9 species of warbler were banded today in a similar mixture, but with the first Palm Warbler of the season as well as some unexpectedly late Yellow-rumped Warblers. But in this season of warblers, sparrows provided highlights as well, with a nice White-crowned Sparrow today, a species we don't often catch.

And Lincoln's Sparrows continue to move through in small numbers. While last week's installment also had a photo of this species, I can't resist posting another as it is one of my favorite sparrow species.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included large flocks of swallows, including several Northern Rough-winged and Bank, and large numbers of Tree and Barn, with groups of Chimney Swifts mixed in at times. A Golden-winged Warbler was singing briefly very early in the morning but apparently didn't stick around. Other interesting warblers observed included Northern Parula, Cape May (very low in the trees), Blackburnian (at least 3), and Blackpoll. A Scarlet Tanager was "chick-burr"-ing from near the Upland Nets for part of the morning, and Baltimore Orioles were numerous and conspicuous.

A non-avian highlight of Sunday morning was the beautiful moon-set over Lake St. Clair at 6 a.m.

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding on these three days possible: Terri Chapdelaine, Andrea Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Jean Gramlich, and Renee Render,.

==========================================================
Banding Data:
==========================================================

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:19 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 88.188
Temperature (F): 60-72
Sky: 50-80% cloud cover
Wind: SW @ 3-5 mph
Barometer: 29.80 - 29.78
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 68 (plus 17 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 32
Capture Rate: 97.5 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: Jean Gramlich, Renee Render

Downy Woodpecker - 1

White-eyed Vireo - 1

Warbling Vireo - 1

Blue Jay - 1

[Black-capped Chickadee - 1 recaptured]

House Wren - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1

Veery - 6

Gray-cheeked Thrush - 1

Swainson's Thrush - 1

Hermit Thrush - 2

American Robin - 3

Gray Catbird - 2

Nashville Warbler - 2

Yellow Warbler - 12 (plus 5 recaptured)

Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1

Magnolia Warbler - 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1

Black-throated Green Warbler - 1

Ovenbird - 5

Northern Waterthrush - 1

Common Yellowthroat - 2

[Song Sparrow - 2 recaptured]

Lincoln's Sparrow - 2

Swamp Sparrow - 10 (plus 1 recaptured)

White-throated Sparrow - 5

[Northern Cardinal - 1 recaptured]

Red-winged Blackbird - 2 (plus 2 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Common Grackle - 1

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1

[Baltimore Oriole - 2 recaptured]

[American Goldfinch - 3 recaptured]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:17 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 7:45 (rain and high winds forced early closure)

Hours Open: 1.75

No. of Nets: 5.00-8.75

Net Hours: 11.563

Temperature (F): 60-62

Sky: 70-100% cloud cover

Wind: S-W @ 3-5-25 mph

Barometer: 29.62 - 29.59

Precipitation: Rain (forced early closure)

No. Banded: 6 (plus 4 recaptured)

No. of Species: 5

Capture Rate: 86.5 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: Andrea Charlebois, Chris Charlebois

Swainson's Thrush - 1

Gray Catbird - 1

Yellow Warbler - 3 (plus 3 recaptured)

[Song Sparrow - 1 recaptured]

Swamp Sparrow - 1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:16 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 10:30
Hours Open: 4.75
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 55.438
Temperature (F): 48-61
Sky: 40-50% cloud cover
Wind: WNW @ 5-7-10 mph
Barometer: 30.14 - 30.16
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 70 (plus 19 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 28
Capture Rate: 164.1 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: Terri Chapdelaine

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2

[Downy Woodpecker - 2 recaptured]

Warbling Vireo - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

House Wren - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3

Veery - 2

Swainson's Thrush - 1

Hermit Thrush - 1

Wood Thrush - 2

Gray Catbird - 4

Nashville Warbler - 4

Yellow Warbler - 16 (plus 6 recaptured)

Magnolia Warbler - 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4

Black-throated Green Warbler - 1

Palm Warbler - 1

Ovenbird - 2

Northern Waterthrush - 2

Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

[Song Sparrow - 3 recaptured]

Lincoln's Sparrow - 2

Swamp Sparrow - 7 (plus 1 recaptured)

White-throated Sparrow - 7 (plus 1 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)

White-crowned Sparrow - 1

[Northern Cardinal - 1 recaptured]

Red-winged Blackbird - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)

Common Grackle - 1

[Brown-headed Cowbird - 1 recaptured]

Metro Beach Banding - April 30 & May 2, 2009

2009-05-04T09:44:00.011-04:00

Conditions returned to more seasonal norms, with cooler temperatures and, yes, rain. On Thursday, April 30, we were only able to keep the nets open for 3 hours before the rain began. While the birds were kept safe by our early closure of nets, the intrepid volunteers (Chad and Cathy) got stuck taking down the station in a cold, light, continuous rain. So, again extra thanks to them for enduring the additional discomforts. On Saturday, May 2, it was sunny and nice, but with winds becoming a bit gusty later in the day. The thistle sock feeders have now been taken down from inside the Field Nets, and the hummingbird feeders are now up near the Field Edge net.

Banding highlights from Thursday, April 30, included not one but TWO White-eyed Vireos. One was a second-year and the other an after second-year. The photos below show the SY above, with a pearly-gray eye and the ASY below with a much whiter eye. Plumage characters (molt limits) also supported these age designations.

Although I've banded two White-eyed Vireos in the same spring season, I don't think I've ever had two on the same day (they were even on the same net run!).

Another highlight today was a Brown Thrasher, which is a species we don't catch every year.

Other firsts for the spring included a Black-and-white Warbler, an Ovenbird, and a Common Yellowthroat. And, I banded a species I've never banded in my life before today. Not because of any great rarity, but because of protocol. Ellie Cox's protocol established that any bird captured at the station would be banded, provided the banding permit allows (i.e., no ducks). As a result, I've banded a few European Starlings here which normally I might not. So, it was surprising to see the following two birds, male and female, in the Willow net closest to where we park the cars.

Yes, a male and female (with a big brood patch) House Sparrow finally hit the nets. Between 1989-2001 only 5 House Sparrows were banded, all in spring.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a pair of Blue-winged Teal in the swamp adjacent to the Upland Nets, a Sora calling in the marsh near the Field Nets, an Eastern Kingbird heard briefly, a Gray Catbird, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Palm Warbler.

Banding highlights from Saturday, May 2, included the first Warbling Vireo of the spring. Not many of these are banded these days, possibly due to the decreased undergrowth in the banding area from extensive browsing by the White-tailed Deer.

Blue Jays were flying south, reverse migrating, in good numbers today (70+), and as sometimes happens during these movements, several were captured. The peak of migration seems to be about the only time when Blue Jays are captured here. Not a rare bird, but always beautiful and exciting to catch.

Other banding highlights included the first Gray Catbird of the spring, three Northern Waterthrushes on the first net run, and the first Lincoln's Sparrow of the spring.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Cooper's Hawk in display flight, a briefly-seen Broad-winged Hawk, a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeders, a singing White-eyed Vireo near the cars (not banded), a briefly singing Blue-headed Vireo, the first Marsh Wren of the spring, and a Baltimore Oriole.

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding on these two days possible: Dave Furi, Chad Geurts, Cathy Thiesen, and Joan Tisdale. Thanks also to Dave Furi for allowing me to use his photo of Lincoln's Sparrow.

==========================================================

Banding Data:

==========================================================

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:29 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 10:00 (rain forced early closure)

Hours Open: 4.25

No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25

Net Hours: 48.438

Temperature (F): 52-54

Sky: 100% cloud cover

Wind: SE @ 5-7 mph

Barometer: 30.20 - 30.09

Precipitation: Rain started at 10:00

No. Banded: 59 (plus 8 recaptured)

No. of Species: 18

Capture Rate: 138.3 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: Chad Geurts, Cathy Thiesen

Northern Flicker - 1

White-eyed Vireo - 2

Blue Jay - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3

Hermit Thrush - 2

Brown Thrasher - 1

Yellow Warbler - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)

Black-and-white Warbler - 1

Ovenbird - 1

Northern Waterthrush - 1

Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus recaptured)

Song Sparrow - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)

Swamp Sparrow - 19

White-throated Sparrow - 4

Red-winged Blackbird - 7

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1

American Goldfinch - 6 (plus 4 recaptured)

House Sparrow - 2

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:28 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 88.563
Temperature (F): 45-64
Sky: 10-50% cloud cover
Wind: Calm-SSE @ 0-5-15 mph
Barometer: 30.05 - 29.95
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 29 (plus 16 recaptured and 5 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 56.5 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: Dave Furi, Joan Tisdale

Downy Woodpecker - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Warbling Vireo - 1

Blue Jay - 6 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Gray Catbird - 1

Yellow Warbler - 1 (plus 4 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Northern Waterthrush - 3

Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)

[Song Sparrow - 7 recaptured]

Lincoln's Sparrow - 1

Swamp Sparrow - 12 (plus 3 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Northern Cardinal - 1

[Red-winged Blackbird - 1 released unbanded]

[Brown-headed Cowbird - 1 recaptured]

American Goldfinch - 1

Metro Beach Banding - April 24-25, 2009

2009-04-28T11:45:00.004-04:00

The warm spell from last week not only continued this week, but intensified, with the high temperatures on both Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 coming close to breaking records. With the warmth, there was also wind, not too bad on Friday but preventing setup of the Field Nets on Saturday since they're completely exposed to southwest winds. While we ended up closing the station before the rain started on Saturday, we only got about half of them down before the rain (and a little thunder) started. We were quickly soaked, but continued to take the station down. Extra thanks to Dave, Renee, and Cathy for enduring the additional discomfort.

A total of 93 new birds, 46 on Friday and 47 on Saturday, was banded continuing the good results experienced this spring.

On Friday, April 24, banding highlights included an adult female Eastern Towhee, a species not often banded here. Getting a photo showing her bright red eyes turned out to be difficult as she kept "blinking" with her nictating membrane every time I clicked the shutter.

Another highlight was the first, and unusually early, Northern Waterthrush of the season. One had been heard calling in the shrub-swamp near the road earlier, so there may have been two different individuals present.

Another highlight was a Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker. The bird of the day was again Red-winged Blackbird and this season is on track to beat last spring's record of 92 (70 so far this year). The 7 White-throated Sparrows banded today represented the first influx of this species of the spring. Highlights of birds observed but not banded included a Sora calling in the shrub-swamp, Purple Martins overhead, late(ish) Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, two Yellow Warblers heard singing distantly away from the road, and a Field Sparrow heard singing in the marsh before sunrise.

On Saturday, April 25, banding highlights included the first Blue-headed Vireo, House Wren, and Yellow Warbler of the season, and a record late Brown Creeper. As with last week, the number of Red-winged Blackbirds banded decreased as the birds apparently figure out the net setup on consecutive days. The bird of the day today was clearly White-throated Sparrow, with 26 banded. Highlights of birds observed but not banded included a female Blue-winged Teal grunting from the shrub-swamp near the cars, a Chimney Swift overhead, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that called just a couple times, at least 3 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, at least 2 Northern Waterthrushes, and 1 Louisiana Waterthrush that burst into song after the thunderstorms stopped just as we finished taking the nets down.

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding on these two days possible: John Bieganowski, Nick Dicresce, Dave Furi, Renee Render, Cathy Thiesen, and Marilynn Thomas.
==========================================================
Banding Data:
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:38 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 86.375
Temperature (F): 48-81
Sky: 50% cloud cover
Wind: ESE-SE @ 7-10-15 mph
Barometer: 30.02 - 29.93
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 46 (plus 6 recaptured and 3 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 63.7 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: John Bieganowski (a.m. only), Nick Dicresce, Cathy Thiesen, Marilyn Thomas

Northern Flicker - 1

[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1

Hermit Thrush - 4

American Robin - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Northern Waterthrush - 1

Eastern Towhee - 1

Song Sparrow - 3 (plus 2 recaptured)

Swamp Sparrow - 1 (plus 1 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

White-throated Sparrow - 7

Red-winged Blackbird - 17 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Common Grackle - 2

Brown-headed Cowbird - 2

American Goldfinch - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:36 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00

Hours Open: 7.00

No. of Nets: 3.75-10.75

Net Hours: 70.500

Temperature (F): 69-81

Sky: 50-90% cloud cover

Wind: SW @ 10-15-20 mph

Barometer: 30.03 - 30.03

Precipitation: None (brief thunderstorm during takedown)

No. Banded: 47 (plus 7 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)

No. of Species: 12

Capture Rate: 78.0 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: Dave Furi, Renee Render, Cathy Thiesen

[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]

Blue-headed Vireo - 1

Brown Creeper - 1 (record late)

House Wren - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1

Hermit Thrush - 4

American Robin - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Yellow Warbler - 1

[Song Sparrow - 2 recaptured]

Swamp Sparrow - 5

White-throated Sparrow - 26 (plus 1 released unbanded)

Red-winged Blackbird - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)

American Goldfinch - 1 (plus 3 recaptured)

Metro Beach Banding - April 17 & 18, 2009

2009-04-20T07:24:00.011-04:00

Ten degrees above normal and sunny skies made for very pleasant conditions on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. The net setup was changed slightly on these two days because a deer ran through one of the Field Nets last week and ruined it, requiring me to buy yet another net (the 8th one since banding began in 2004). Three enthusiastic and very helpful first-time assistants came out on Friday, and four cheerful and hard-working assistants came out on Saturday, including Neil Gilbert who was visiting from California. In the photo below, Neil is helping Renee with the "photographer's grip".

And here Neil holds a Swamp Sparrow for Joan to photograph while Frank looks on.

A total of 110 new birds was banded over the two days, a very good number for so early in the season.

On Friday, April 17, highlights included four Hermit Thrushes, the first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the spring (record early for spring banding), the first Swamp Sparrow of the spring, the first Dark-eyed Junco, and possibly the last, and two American Tree Sparrows. Perhaps of more interest today were two recaptures, one of a female Black-capped Chickadee that was banded in 2005 as a second-year bird, which now makes her a 6th year female. And, a female Hairy Woodpecker was recaptured that was banded in 2004 as an After Third Year, making her an After EIGHTH Year female. Interestingly, I took photos of her when banded in 2004, as well as today. These photos are below, with the 2004 photo above and the 2009 photo below.

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included a Wilson's Snipe winnowing at sunrise over the marsh, an American Woodcock that flew across the road while we were driving in, both Caspian and Forster's Terns on the beach but visible and audible from the banding area, an Osprey perched near the beach, the first Northern Rough-winged Swallows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets of the spring, a Field Sparrow out among the Field nets, and a flyover Pine Siskin.

On Saturday, April 18, banding highlights included the first Ruby-crowned Kinglets of the spring, 9 Hermit Thrushes (a record for spring banding), two Yellow-rumped Warblers including the nice adult male shown below, a very late American Tree Sparrow (tied late record for spring banding), and the first White-throated Sparrows of the spring.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a Common Loon flying overhead, two Cooper's Hawks engaged in courtship flight, a calling Virginia Rail, a Sora (Neil only), a winnowing Wilson's Snipe at sunrise, two Blue-winged Teal (Joan only), a Belted Kingfisher, a Pine Warbler found by Neil which sang only briefly, and another flyover Pine Siskin. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was reported along the "trail" on the fence along Cherry Lane, which was refound by Joan, though she was too close for comfort when a big 30-foot multi-trunked tree fell down near her! We all heard and saw this amazing sight! An odd non-avian highlight of the day was an early afternoon bat sighting. Suddenly, a bat was flying back and forth over us in the bright sunlight. At the time, I thought it was a Red Bat, but after looking at my photos more carefully, it appears that it is actually a Big Brown Bat (based on tail shape, leg placement, and ear size), which is also somewhat migratory. I believe that I can see an insect in the bat's mouth in the photo.

Many thanks to the volunteer assistants who made banding on these two days possible: Chad Geurts, Jean Gramlich, Frank Lautner, Gisela Lendle King, Renee Render (half day), Joan Tisdale, and especially Neil Gilbert who came all the way from California to help out. Well, not really, he was here anyway. Here is a final photo of Neil "hypnotizing" a Golden-crowned Kinglet...it's amazing how easily amused these California guys are!

==========================================================

Banding Data:

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2009

Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:48 a.m.

Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00

Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15

Hours Open: 7.25

No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25

Net Hours: 88.563

Temperature (F): 36-70

Sky: 0% cloud cover

Wind: Calm-SE @ 0-5-7 mph

Barometer: 30.46 - 30.36

Precipitation: None

No. Banded: 61 (plus 18 recaptured and 4 released unbanded)

No. of Species: 16

Capture Rate: 93.7 birds per 100 net hours

Assistants: Chad Geurts, Jean Gramlich, Gisela Lendle King

[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
[Hairy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
[Black-capped Chickadee - 3 recaptured]
Brown Creeper - 4
Winter Wren - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Hermit Thrush - 4 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 2
Fox Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow - 6 (plus 6 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 3
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 23 (plus 2 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
American Goldfinch - 11 (plus 4 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2009
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:47 a.m.
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:30
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 5.00-13.25
Net Hours: 93.000
Temperature (F): 48-77
Sky: 0-20% cloud cover
Wind: SW-WSW @ 3-5-10 mph
Barometer: 30.19 - 30.10
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 49 (plus 8 recaptured)
No. of Species: 15
Capture Rate: 61.3 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: Neil Gilbert, Frank Lautner, Renee Render (half day), and Joan Tisdale

Eastern Phoebe - 2

Brown Creeper - 1

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2

Hermit Thrush - 9 (one-day spring record)

American Robin - 2 (plus 3 recaptured)

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2

American Tree Sparrow (tied record late)

Fox Sparrow - 2

Song Sparrow - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)

Swamp Sparrow - 5

White-throated Sparrow - 2

Northern Cardinal - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)

Red-winged Blackbird - 4

American Goldfinch - 13 (plus 2 recaptured)