Metro Beach banding station report - September 21 & 22, 2012

Another cold front brought good numbers of birds into the banding area this week. Banding two days in a row can sometimes result in numbers being lower on the second day, especially after more than 100 birds were banded on Friday, September 21. And the morning of Saturday, September 22 looked like the predicted rain would arrive sooner rather than later, but it turned out that only very light rain for about 10 minutes was all we'd get. And eventually, Saturday turned into a good day too but only after a very slow morning with the biggest net runs being the last three of the day!

Thanks again to the following volunteers who made banding on these two days possible: Rebecca Blundell, Paul Bowling, Terri Chapdelaine, Dave Lancaster, Kathy McDonald, Joe Midgett, Tom Schlack, Edie Schmitz, and Blanche Wicke.

Highlights of the 116 birds banded on Friday, September 21 included 11 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds plus two recaptured hummingbirds, which rarely happens at this site which is primarily a migration corridor for the species. The recaptured hatch-year male was banded on September 15 and weighed 3.3 grams then, but was up to 4.3 grams today! The recaptured hatch-year female was banded on September 9 and weighed exactly the same today. I attempted once more to take a photo showing the pollen transfer mechanism of the Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) flowers. The location of the pollen is shown by the arrow in the photo below.

Hatch-year female Ruby-throated
Hummingbird and Jewelweed.

An Empidonax flycatcher was a bit unexpected today, especially as it was not one of the later migrating species (Least and Yellow-bellied), but was a Willow/Alder type, and it keyed out to Willow. Another Winter Wren was right on schedule and four species of thrush were banded today including another Wood Thrush. The Hermit Thrush today would have been the first of the season had we not caught one way back in mid-August, much earlier than normal.

Most of the highlights today were warblers, including the second Connecticut Warbler of the fall found on the first net run. This is only the third season ever that more than one has been banded, the others being fall 2008 and spring 1990. This species has only banded in about half the years since 1989.

Hatch-year female Connecticut Warbler

And after seeing several over the past week or more, the first Northern Parula of the fall was banded today.

Hatch-year female Northern Parula














And the first Black-throated Green Warbler of the season was captured, perhaps a little late for the first one, but not at all particularly late.

Hatch-year male Black-throated Green Warbler

A little on the early side was the first White-crowned Sparrow of the fall.

Hatch-year White-crowned Sparrow

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included an apparently migrating American Kestrel, several Chimney Swifts, several Red-breasted Nuthatches that hung out right next to the banding area all day, and a couple Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Highlights of the 102 birds banded on Saturday, September 22 included four more Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Another highlight was the weather, which had been predicted to be rather poor (70% chance of rain). But as the photo below, taken by volunteer Paul Bowling shows, it was a glorious day...eventually. The morning was slow, but later on (perhaps after the official arrival of fall with the Autumnal Equinox at 10:48 a.m.!) it got much better.

Volunteers extracting birds at the
Field Edge net.

The first Yellow-rumped Warblers of the fall were banded today, after being in sighted in the park in small numbers for more than a week.

Hatch-year female Yellow-rumped Warbler

And Black-throated Green Warblers were captured again today, with three total which is a very good number for this locale. 

After hatch-year male
Black-throated Green Warbler















At one point, two were in-hand at the same time and volunteer Paul Bowling has generously allowed me to use his photo of the side-by-side comparison of an adult male and a hatch-year female Black-throated Green Warbler.

After hatch-year male (left) and
hatch-year female (right)
Black-throated Green Warblers















Interesting birds observed but not banded today included a flock of Chimney Swifts overhead at one point, continuing Red-breasted Nuthatches, three species of wren (Carolina, Winter, and Marsh), an Orange-crowned Warbler and 3 Wilson's Warblers. Two of us (Terri and I) decided to walk the beach after the banding station was closed as we'd gotten a report (thanks Joanna!) of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. We got brief looks before it took flight...there was a fair amount of activity along the beach including goose hunters.

============================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
FRIDAY, September 21, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:18
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 89.625
Temperature (F): 52-72
Cloud Cover: 80-50%
Wind: SW-SE @ 3-5-10 mph
Barometer: 29.94-29.94
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 116 (plus 4 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 30
Capture Rate: 136.1 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 10.00 hours, 5:00-15:00): Dave Lancaster (1.0 hrs), Kathy McDonald (5.5 hrs), Tom Schlack (1.0 hrs), Edie Schmitz, Blanche Wicke.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 11 (plus 2 recaptured)
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
Winter Wren - 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 9
Hermit Thrush - 1
Wood Thrush - 1
Gray Catbird - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 2
Nashville Warbler - 5
Northern Parula - 1
Magnolia Warbler - 3
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 6
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1
Bay-breasted Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 3
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 2
Ovenbird - 3
Northern Waterthrush - 1
Connecticut Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 7 (plus 1 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 2
Song Sparrow - 18 (plus 2 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 4
White-crowned Sparrow - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
American Goldfinch - 22 (plus 2 recaptured)

-------------------------------------
SATURDAY, September 22, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:19
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 14:15
Hours Open: 8.50
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 107.75
Temperature (F): 54-62
Cloud Cover: 50-100%
Wind: SW-NW @ 5-7-10 mph
Barometer: 29.79-29.89
Precipitation: Trace rain
No. Banded: 102 (plus 8 recaptured and 5 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 22
Capture Rate: 106.7 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 10.5 hours, 5:00-15:30): Rebecca Blundell, Paul Bowling, Terri Chapdelaine, Joe Midgett (4.0 hrs).

[Mourning Dove - 2 released unbanded]
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
[Black-capped Chickadee - 1 recaptured]
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 3
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Nashville Warbler - 13
Magnolia Warbler - 3
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 3
Palm Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 7
American Redstart - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Ovenbird - 3
Common Yellowthroat - 10
Song Sparrow - 9 (plus 1 recaptured and 3 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 2
Northern Cardinal - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
American Goldfinch - 34 (plus 1 recaptured)

Metro Beach banding station report - September 9 & 15, 2012

The weather this past week began trending toward more seasonal conditions, with cooler temperatures and a bit of rain. In fact, the second day of banding scheduled for Friday, September 14, was rained out, signaling that the drought conditions of this past summer are at an end. Thanks to some wonderful volunteers, this rain-out was able to be rescheduled for the next day. On Sunday, September 9, the Nature Center had scheduled a "Hummingbirds and Monarchs" program, so the pressure was on to catch and band some hummingbirds especially after banding very few the previous week. Luckily, every group that was carted down to the banding area got to see a hummingbird in-hand. The migrants captured this past week also had a flavor of later in the season.

Many thanks to the following volunteers for making banding on these two days possible: Paul Bowling, Brandon Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Jacob Charlebois, Trisha Charlebois, Stevie Kuroda, Tom Schlack, Bruce Watson, and Sue Wright.

Highlights of the 65 birds banded on Sunday, September 9 included 10 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. One of the most fun things I was able to do was show visitors how the native Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) was pollinated by the hummingbirds, since it grows abundantly right next to where we band the birds. Other visitors got to listen to a hummingbird heartbeat, while others got to release the banded birds. It was a very successful "Hummingbirds and Monarchs" event today.

Hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
with Spotted Jewelweed flower.

A surprise was the Wood Thrush, which does migrate throughout September, but we don't catch this species every year, and when we do we only catch one or two of them.


Hatch-year Wood Thrush













And an unusually early migrant was a Lincoln's Sparrow. And as I've said many times before, this is one of my favorite sparrow species, with its crisp and subtle markings.

Hatch-year Lincoln's Sparrow

Interesting birds observed but not banded included singing Eastern Wood-Pewee and Warbling Vireo, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Northern Waterthrush, and flyover Chimney Swift and Bobolink.

Highlights of the 87 birds banded on Saturday, September 15 included 18 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. It was good to finally band a decent number as it was starting to look like the migration had already ended. Only the second Red-eyed Vireo of the season was also banded, this one a hatch-year bird showing a brown eye. The first one was an adult that may have spent the summer in the banding area, but this individual was likely a migrant.

Hatch-year Red-eyed Vireo

Most unexpected today was a somewhat early Winter Wren. Most years, they are seen and/or heard calling in the undergrowth before we actually catch one.

Hatch-year Winter Wren

A holdover from summer was this heavily molting adult female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. This species isn't banded every year here.


After hatch-year female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher













Marsh Wrens nest in the cattails a short distance away from the Field Nets, but the number captured each year varies considerably, and they are almost never caught in spring, and almost never out in the field! This one, the first banded here in more than a year, was a nicely plumaged adult that was molting its body feathers under the surface.


After hatch-year Marsh Wren













The first Gray-cheeked Thrushes of the season were right on time, after being seen elsewhere in the park earlier in the week.

Hatch-year Gray-cheeked Thrush

Several warbler species were captured, including Nashville, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Blackpoll, American Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat. But they were in lower numbers than hoped for after the passage of yesterday's cold front and rain.

The second Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the season was banded today; it was caught in the Field Nets as was the first one earlier in the season. The record number here is three in a season, so hopefully we'll get another one...or two.


Hatch-year female Rose-breasted Grosbeak













Unexpected was a hatch-year male Indigo Bunting; a species caught very occasionally (not annually), and less often in fall. The tinges of blue allowed this bird to be sexed as male.


Hatch-year male Indigo Bunting













And, slightly early, were the first White-throated Sparrows of the season after they first arrived on Wednesday in the previous week. There will be many more of these in the coming weeks.


Hatch-year White-throated Sparrow













Interesting birds observed but not banded included flyover Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, and Red-tailed Hawks, calling Red-breasted Nuthatch and Carolina Wren, and Tennessee Warbler and Northern Waterthrush. After the station was closed, most of the crew went to the beach, well away from the banding area, to see the Whimbrel and Baird's Sandpipers that were there.

============================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
SUNDAY, September 9, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:05
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:30
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 95.25
Temperature (F): 54-70
Cloud Cover: 10-70%
Wind: W-NW @ 3-5-7 mph
Barometer: 29.89-30.00
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 65 (plus 4 recaptured)
No. of Species: 15
Capture Rate: 72.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 10.00 hours, 5:00-15:00): Brandon Charlebois (7 hrs), Chris Charlebois (7 hrs), Jacob Charlebois (7 hrs), Trisha Charlebois (7 hrs), Stevie Kuroda, Bruce Watson, Sue Wright.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 10
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 3
Wood Thrush - 1
Nashville Warbler - 2
Magnolia Warbler - 2
Blackpoll Warbler - 7
American Redstart - 7
Ovenbird - 1
Mourning Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 9 (plus 1 recaptured)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 1
American Goldfinch - 14 (plus 2 recaptured)

-------------------------------------
SATURDAY, September 15, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:11
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 94.25
Temperature (F): 52-68
Cloud Cover: 10-40%
Wind: NW @ 5-7 mph
Barometer: 30.32-30.31
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 87 (plus 9 recaptured)
No. of Species: 19
Capture Rate: 104.0 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 10.0 hours, 5:00-15:00): Paul Bowling, Stevie Kuroda, Tom Schlack, Bruce Watson.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 18
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Winter Wren - 1
Marsh Wren - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 8
Nashville Warbler - 3
Magnolia Warbler - 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 4
Blackpoll Warbler - 2
American Redstart - 3
Common Yellowthroat - 9 (plus 4 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 5 (plus 3 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
White-throated Sparrow - 2
Northern Cardinal - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 1
American Goldfinch - 22 (plus 2 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)

Metro Beach banding station report - September 6-7, 2012

Conditions for migration in the week before these two banding days was improved over previous weeks. While we were gathered in the darkness along the shoreline of Lake St. Clair each morning before heading back to the banding area, migrants were heard calling overhead as they came into the park from offshore, many of them Swainson's Thrushes. The number of nocturnal flight calls heard was greater on Friday (Sep 7) than on Thursday (Sep 6). But clearly the banding results can sometimes be the opposite as you'll see from the summary below.

The station was closed early on Thursday due to a personal emergency. I want to thank the following volunteers for making banding possible on these two days: Dave Lancaster, Marie McGee, Kathy McDonald, Tom Schlack, and Blanche Wicke.

Highlights of the 44 birds banded on Thursday, September 6 included a number of warblers. A good omen for the day was the very first bird captured, a Connecticut Warbler. This was the 5th at this station since 2004, all of them in fall. This compares with a total of 8 banded by Ellie Cox (the previous bander here) from 1989-2000, with 2 in spring and 6 in fall. So the capture rates seem to be similar.

Hatch-year female Connecticut Warbler

Hatch-year female Connecticut Warbler

The second bird captured today is one that has been nearly as infrequently captured, a Cape May Warbler. This was only the 6th banded here since 2004, all in fall since 2010. This contrasts with a total of 16 banded from 1989-2000, with 7 in spring and 9 in fall.

Hatch-year male Cape May Warbler

Hatch-year male Cape May Warbler

Another uncommon warbler captured today was Mourning Warbler, with two banded. From 2004-2011, an average of 5.4 per season have been banded (range 1-10), and the two today brought the season total to 5. The hatch-year bird showing a nearly complete, but still broken eye ring, provided a good comparison to the Connecticut Warbler (remember to click on the photos for an enlarged view).


Hatch-year Mourning Warbler













The other Mourning Warbler was a bit of a surprise, as it was an adult male, which made the day feel more like spring with his plumage being brighter than all the Mournings we've banded this fall.

After hatch-year male Mourning Warbler

The final warbler highlight came in the form of a commonly observed, but irregularly banded species, the season's first banded Palm Warbler.

Hatch-year Palm Warbler

Interesting birds observed but not banded included two American Woodcock flushed from different parts of the banding area...we'll catch one eventually! Only two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were observed and sadly none banded, which is very unusual at this peak time of their migration. Also, warblers observed but not banded included Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, and Ovenbird.

Highlights of the 23 birds banded on Friday, September 7 included 5 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Normally, I'd be banding 10-15 per day this time of year, but the past two days have come up empty so it is nice to see a few in the area.


Hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird













Typically, more than 90% of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds banded at this site are hatch-year birds. It is not clear why that is, but the park's habitat does not support more than a couple breeding pairs, so most are assumed to be migrants here. Determining the age of these birds is accomplished by looking at the surface of the upper mandible (maxilla) with a 10x magnifier. Hatch-year birds show "corrugations", sometimes faint, along most of its length. This is difficult to show to others, and is not easy to photograph, but I did manage one today and it is posted below (again, click on it to enlarge).

"Corrugations" on maxilla of hatch-year
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (also note buffy
fringes on forehead and crown feathers)

Determining the sex of these hatch-year birds is accomplished by measuring the wing chord; males are smaller than females with very little overlap in size. Other characters that observers can use, that are less reliable than wing chord, include the "5-o'clock shadow" effect of dense spotting on males, as on the bird above. And sometimes young males show stray iridescent red throat feathers. Another character that is still being explored is the pattern of white on the second rectrix (third from outside), with males tending to have white on the tip only on the inside of the shaft, with females having more extensive white. Also, the shapes of the male's tail feathers are subtly more pointy than females.

Hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
with white mainly on inside web of second
rectrix.

Interesting birds observed but not banded included two Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a calling Marsh Wren. Warblers observed but not banded included: Tennessee, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Blackpoll, and American Redstart.

I had hoped to provide photos of the progress of the Monarch chrysalis discovered along the side of the road last week, but unfortunately the park decided to mow a wide swath down both sides of the banding area...puzzling to me as this is a nature trail in the natural area.

============================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
THURSDAY, September 6, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:02
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 10:15 (personal emergency forced early close)
Hours Open: 4.50
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 53.75
Temperature (F): 66-73
Cloud Cover: 50%
Wind: NW @ 3-5-7 mph
Barometer: 29.90-29.97
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 44 (plus 4 recaptured)
No. of Species: 15
Capture Rate: 89.3 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 7.00 hours, 5:00-12:00): Dave Lancaster, Kathy McDonald.

Swainson's Thrush - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Palm Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 4
American Redstart - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 2
Connecticut Warbler - 1
Mourning Warbler - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 8
Song Sparrow - 6 (plus 2 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 2
American Goldfinch - 11 (plus 1 recaptured)

-------------------------------------
FRIDAY, September 7, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:03
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:45
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 87.50
Temperature (F): 64-75
Cloud Cover: 50-100%
Wind: NW-SW @ 1-3-5 mph
Barometer: 29.91-29.93
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 23 (plus 2 recaptured)
No. of Species: 10
Capture Rate: 28.6 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): Marie McGee (8.0 hrs), Tom Schlack, Blanche Wicke.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 5
Least Flycatcher - 2
House Wren - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 3
Nashville Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 1
Song Sparrow - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 4

Metro Beach banding station report - August 28 & September 1, 2012

Warblers increased slightly in number on August 28, and came in good numbers on September 1. But thrushes are still low in number, along with vireos and flycatchers. Good weather on both days allowed the station to be operated for the standard number of hours (6 hours after the last net is open). On Saturday, September 1, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac reached southern Michigan, giving us mostly just some cloudiness and high haze. The sky reminded me of the movie Shaft...it was an Isaac Haze :-). Younger readers may have to Google this to get the bad pun. Sorry.

Many thanks to the following volunteers who made banding on these two days possible: Terri Chapdelaine, Jacob Charlebois, Marie McGee, Joe Midgett, Tom Schlack, and Blanche Wicke.

Highlights of the 49 birds banded on Tuesday, August 28 included two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and a surprise Red-breasted Nuthatch.


Hatch-year female Red-breasted Nuthatch













Most years we see a post-breeding dispersal of Red-breasted Nuthatches that does not often indicate whether there will be a good or poor winter for this species in southern Michigan. And any time I've banded one of these August birds, it has been a hatch-year.

The first Swainson's Thrushes of the fall were captured today, about two weeks later than the typical first stragglers arrive.

Hatch-year Swainson's Thrush

A good number of Tennessee Warblers was banded today, putting us ahead of the typical pace for this species by late August. The first Nashville Warblers of the season were also banded today.


Hatch-year male Nashville Warbler













And the first Black-throated Blue Warbler of the season was this hatch-year female, with a very small wing spot (some lack it entirely).


Hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler













The two classic "confusing fall warblers" are Bay-breasted and Blackpoll, and we had one of each today. Many hatch-year Blackpolls show yellow only on the soles of the feet, making that often-cited field mark difficult to use. A fairly consistent different between the two species, seen in the photos below, is that Blackpoll tends to be yellower on the throat and breast, and bright white on the undertail coverts, while Bay-breasted tends to be more olive on the breast and buffy on the undertail coverts. Banders have another character to check, the sixth primary which is emarginated (sometimes only slightly) in Bay-breasted and not emarginated in Blackpoll.


Hatch-year Blackpoll Warbler



Hatch-year Bay-breasted Warbler

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are typically captured in September, if we catch any at all, but last fall we had two in August and today one was in the same unusual habitat, in the Field Nets. It was a hatch-year female based on the molt condition to determine the age, and the yellow wing linings to determine the sex.


Hatch-year female Rose-breasted Grosbeak













Interesting birds observed but not banded today included a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk chasing the resident Red-tail around for a while, and a Sora calling from the marsh. In the trees next to the banding station, a number of interesting songbirds were seen including a Philadelphia Vireo, and Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided, and Magnolia warblers. A few Bobolinks were heard flying overhead in the morning.

We often take some time to look at other things in the banding area when things slow down enough, and today there were several distractions including a chrysalis of a Monarch butterfly hanging from a grapevine right along the banding road.

Monarch butterfly chrysalis

Some years there are good numbers of orb-weaving spiders in the open fields, and this year appears to be one of those with several of these beautiful Banded Argiopes building webs among the vegetation.


Banded Argiope (Argiope trifasciata)













And on our last net run, I looked down into the grass along the roadside and saw a baby Northern Water Snake. So, of course, I picked it up

hatchling Northern Water Snake

He was quite feisty, and struck at the camera lens several times! So, I put him down in the road where he stood his ground for another last photo before hastily retreating into the swamp.


hatchling Northern Water Snake













Highlights of the 88 birds banded on Saturday, September 1 included the first Yellow-bellied Flycatcher of the fall. In recent years they've been scarce, but have sometimes been fairly common in the 1990s. The mainly green and yellow tones, including yellow on the throat, big-headed look, and bold yellowish eye ring are good marks to look for on this species in the field.


Hatch-year Yellow-bellied Flycatcher













An adult Red-eyed Vireo, aged by its red eye (hatch-years have brown eyes), was the first for the season and may have been a locally summering individual. Note that it is molting its body feathers so is probably not a migrant based on that.


After hatch-year Red-eyed Vireo













The first Veeries of the fall migration were banded today, but were a couple weeks later than expected.

Hatch-year Veery

The first Magnolia Warblers banded this fall included an impressive total of 7. The photo below is similar to many that get rejected for this blog as the bird is not holding still. But in this case, the raised wings allow the yellow rump to be seen, which can throw birders off who think the only warbler with a yellow rump is the Yellow-rumped Warbler!

Hatch-year Magnolia Warbler

There is no confirmed method for telling hatch-year males from females in the hand, despite some field guide illustrations suggesting that they can be told in the field. I have been working on this for many years, trying to sort through the variable plumages of Magnolia Warblers in fall, and I THINK that the ones with mostly black upper tail coverts, bold flank and back streaking, large white tail spots, and longer wings, are males, while females are smaller and much duller. Unfortunately, 80% of the hatch-years I see are in between these two extremes!

Another Black-throated Blue Warbler today was a male, aged as hatch-year mainly by skull ossification as plumage is not a reliable way to age this species.


Hatch-year male Black-throated Blue Warbler













More Bay-breasted and Blackpoll Warblers added to the interest, as well as a good number of Ovenbirds and the third Mourning Warbler of the season. The first Wilson's Warblers were represented by two hatch-years, a male and a female.


Hatch-year male Wilson's Warbler














Hatch-year female Wilson's Warbler













Interesting birds observed but not banded included a briefly seen Osprey, a calling Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Black-throated Green and Chestnut-sided warblers and a Northern Waterthrush. Several Bobolinks flew overhead in the morning, and a couple of Baltimore Orioles were calling most of the day next to the banding station. Very few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were in the banding area today, when normally there should be quite a few, and none were banded.

============================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
TUESDAY, August 28, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:52
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 87.50
Temperature (F): 64-77
Cloud Cover: 10-30%
Wind: NW @ 3-5-10 mph
Barometer: 30.08-30.10
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 49 (plus 2 recaptured)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 58.3 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.50 hours, 5:00-14:30): Jacob Charlebois, Marie McGee, Tom Schlack, Blanche Wicke.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 2
Tennessee Warbler - 6
Nashville Warbler - 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Bay-breasted Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 2
Song Sparrow - 6 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1
American Goldfinch - 22 (plus 1 recaptured)

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SATURDAY, September 1, 2012
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:56
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:45
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 4.5-13.5
Net Hours: 87.50
Temperature (F): 64-81
Cloud Cover: 50-80-50%
Wind: NW-Calm @ 5-7-0 mph
Barometer: 30.15-30.15
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 88 (plus 6 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 20
Capture Rate: 108.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.0 hours, 5:00-14:00): Terri Chapdelaine, Joe Midgett, Blanche Wicke.

[Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1 released unbanded]
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1
Least Flycatcher - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 2
Veery - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 3
Tennessee Warbler - 8
Nashville Warbler - 6
Magnolia Warbler - 7
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Bay-breasted Warbler - 2
Blackpoll Warbler - 7
American Redstart - 1
Ovenbird - 5
Mourning Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 11 (plus 2 recaptured)
Wilson's Warbler - 2
Song Sparrow - 15 (plus 1 recaptured)
Northern Cardinal - 2
American Goldfinch - 10 (plus 3 recaptured)