That this has been a very good fall for banding is certainly supported by the numbers. It is difficult to be brief, so I won't! The 133 birds banded on Saturday (Oct 11) brought the season's total to 1447, just short of the 1493 in fall 2006 and there are still three weeks to go! These two days were also the 4th and 5th banding days in a row with more than 100 birds banded! Also, the 6 new species for the season added on Saturday brought the fall total up to 72 species, the highest ever, spring or fall. Next highest species total is 67 for spring 1995 and fall 1990 & 1991. Many records have been broken for individual species as well. Record days of 7 Winter Wrens on Thursday (Oct 9) and 6 on Saturday brought the seasons total equal to the record of 14 in fall 2005, and we'll almost certainly band more before the end of the month. The 45 Yellow Warblers banded this fall (none recently) beats the previous fall record of 30 from 2007. The 49 Black-throated Blue Warblers so far this fall beats the previous records of 41 in fall 2006 and 23 in fall 1991. The 96 Common Yellowthroats this fall beats the previous records of 53 in spring 1997, 50 in fall 2007, and 42 in fall 1991.The 151 Song Sparrows so far this fall beats the previous records of 108 in fall 1991, 101 in fall 1990, and 100 in fall 2007. The 120 Swamp Sparrows so far this fall beats the previous records of 115 in spring 1997, 94 in spring 2007, 42 in fall 1994, and 36 in fall 2007. The 226 White-throated Sparrows so far this fall beats the previous records of 203 in fall 2006 and 160 in fall 1989. The 155 American Goldfinches banded so far this fall is much higher than the previous records of 67 in spring 2007, 46 in spring 1996, and 41 in fall 2007. Higher goldfinch numbers is all thanks to the thistle sock feeder placed inside the "U" of the Field Nets a couple weeks ago. It is quite clear that the Field Nets, added in 2006, have been very productive for all species using open wet habitats.
On Thursday (Oct 9) banding highlights included a Northern Flicker (the 6th for the season), a record of 7 Winter Wrens, and the second Orange-crowned Warbler of the fall. Interesting birds observed but not banded included a late Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, a Blue-headed Vireo, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, a Marsh Wren, single Magnolia and Blackpoll Warblers, and a Dark-eyed Junco.
On Saturday (Oct 11), in addition to a lot of birds (the nets had to be closed for a couple of hours in order to catch up), there were many banding highlights. The immature female Sharp-shinned Hawk was the first since 2005 and only the 4th one since 1989. The Philadelphia Vireo was the second since fall 2005 and only the third since spring 2004. By contrast, a total of 48 were banded between 1989 and 2000 (44 in fall). So, where are they these days? The Tufted Titmouse was only the 4th since 2004 and only the 11th since 1989. The Field Sparrow was the first in fall since 1991, the second since 2005, and only the 6th one since 1989. Also, the 3 Eastern Phoebes and 1 Blue-headed Vireo were the first of the fall, and the 3 White-crowned Sparrows were a good number. A single Common Yellowthroat was somewhat late. Interesting birds observed but not banded included several Mourning Doves in the banding area (but none captured), at least 4-6 Eastern Towhees in the banding area (none of those captured either!), and a Dark-eyed Junco.
Banding Data:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2008
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:38
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:30
Hours Open: 7.75
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.00
Net Hours: 93.250
Temperature (F): 51-70
Sky: 0% cloud cover
Wind: SW @ 3-5-15 mph
Barometer: 29.99 - 30.06
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 113 (plus 14 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 19
Capture Rate: 137.3 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: Dave Lancaster, Tom Schlack
[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
Northern Flicker - 1
[Black-capped Chickadee - 3 recaptured]
Brown Creeper - 2
House Wren - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Winter Wren - 7
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 7
Swainson's Thrush - 1
Hermit Thrush - 25 (plus 1 recaptured)
Gray Catbird - 2
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Song Sparrow - 4
Swamp Sparrow - 6 (plus 1 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 42 (plus 3 recaptured)
White-crowned Sparrow - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
American Goldfinch - 8 (plus 4 recaptured)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2008
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:40
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 14:30
Hours Open: 5.00 (nets closed between 9:30-13:00)
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.00
Net Hours: 56.375
Temperature (F): 52-73
Sky: 10% cloud cover
Wind: ENE @ 1-5 mph
Barometer: 30.44 - 30.43
Precipitation: None.
No. Banded: 133 (plus 19 recaptured)
No. of Species: 22
Capture Rate: 269.6 birds per 100 net hours
Assistants: Thierry Lach, Bonita Olesen, Steve Olesen
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Eastern Phoebe - 3
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Philadelphia Vireo - 1
[Black-capped Chickadee - 1 recaptured]
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Brown Creeper - 3
Winter Wren - 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 8
Swainson's Thrush - 1
Hermit Thrush - 15
American Robin - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 1
FIELD SPARROW - 1
Song Sparrow - 10 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 13 (plus 1 recaptured)
White-throated Sparrow - 50 (plus 10 recaptured)
White-crowned Sparrow - 3
Northern Cardinal - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 8 (plus 4 recaptured)
Monday, October 13, 2008
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