Lake St. Clair Metropark bird banding report - October 30 - November 6, 2016

I haven't felt like blogging the past couple of weeks due to illness and other stresses, but the season does need to be closed out and summaries posted. The last three days of banding this fall were not spectacular days, but not too bad either, with a reasonable number of birds, bringing the total banded over 1000, which puts this season as the 3rd lowest fall since 2004. Rain continued to plague the station, forcing us to close for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the morning on October 30, and forcing us to close early on November 2. Fog in the morning of November 6 did not develop into anything more serious, so we finished the season with a "normal" amount of coverage. The end of Daylight Savings Time changed our start time by an hour on November 6, so we didn't have as much darkness to try to audio-lure for owls.

Highlights of the 21 birds banded on Sunday, October 30, included a single Yellow-rumped Warbler, which was one day short of being record late banded, although this species is often seen well into November in southeastern Michigan.

Hatch-year female Yellow-rumped Warbler

Hatch-year female Yellow-rumped Warbler

Hatch-year female Yellow-rumped Warbler

Interesting birds observed, but not banded, included 3 lingering Wood Ducks, a Cooper's Hawk flyover, and two flyover Cedar Waxwings.

Highlights of the 45 birds banded on Wednesday, November 2, included a record late Nashville Warbler.

Hatch-year male Nashville Warbler

It was also a good day for kinglets, especially Golden-crowned. Sparrows were still low in number but a bit more interesting with 3 Fox Sparrows, and a very late (for banding) White-crowned Sparrow.

Hatch-year White-crowned Sparrow

Interesting birds observed, but not banded, included an adult Red-tailed Hawk that was hunting in the grass near the banding table.

Red-tailed Hawk with unidentified prey item

Four American Pipits flew over, headed toward the beach, and there were a few White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos in the area, and a Purple Finch flew over also.

Highlights of the 41 birds banded on Sunday, November 6, included a good total of 20 American Tree Sparrows, the second highest number banded in a single day here.

Hatch-year American Tree Sparrow

Another 3 Fox Sparrows brightened our day, while the 3 Swamp Sparrows were record late.

Hatch-year Swamp Sparrow

Hatch-year Swamp Sparrow

And the last bird of the day, and the season, was a White-throated Sparrow. It was only the 29th of the season, which is typically not anywhere near what a typical peak DAY would be here. I really don't know what happened to this species this fall.

Hatch-year White-throated Sparrow

Interesting birds observed, but not banded today included a hunting Sharp-shinned Hawk, a calling Great Horned Owl before first light, two lingering Sandhill Cranes calling from the north marsh, a late Belted Kingfisher, a Red-breasted Nuthatch in the Cottonwood tree right above the banding table, and several flyover Purple Finches. The absence of kinglets, both in the nets and in the woods, was a bit odd for this time of year.

Banding on these three days could not have been conducted without the help of the following volunteers: Jenifer Benke, John Bieganowski, Carol Goodman, Stevie Kuroda, Dave Lancaster, Ava Lau, Harry Lau, Rose Lau, Tessa Lau, Kim Patrick, Bruce Watson, Blanche Wicke, Christian Zammit, Juilian Zammit, Pia Zammit.

Bird Banding Results

October 30, 2016

Time open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time closed (E.S.T.): 11:45
Hours Open: 3.5 (closed 6:15-9:45 due to rain)
Net Hours: 57.125
Temperature (F): 54-52-54
Cloud Cover: 100%-80%-100%
Wind Direction: NW-N
Wind Speed (mph): 3-7-12
Barometer: 29.99 - 30.11
Precipitation:  Rain from 6:15 - 9:30.
No. Banded: 21 (plus 11 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
Species Captured: 10
Capture Rate (#/100 net hours): 57.8
Banding Assistants (9.0 hours worked): Carol Goodman, Stevie Kuroda, Kim Patrick (1.0 hrs), Bruce Watson, Blanche Wicke.

[Black-capped Chickadee - 4 recaptured]
Tufted Titmouse - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
Brown Creeper - 1
Hermit Thrush - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 2
American Goldfinch - 10 (plus 6 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
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November 2, 2016

Time open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time closed (E.S.T.): 11:45
Hours Open: 6.0
Net Hours: 97.0
Temperature (F): 59-61
Cloud Cover: 80-100%
Wind Direction: SSW
Wind Speed (mph): 1-3-5
Barometer: 30.12 - 29.42
Precipitation: Trace rain in a.m., steady rain at 12:45
No. Banded: 45 (plus 4 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
Species Captured:  12
Capture Rate (#/100 net hours): 51.5
Banding Assistants (8.5 hours worked): John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Kim Patrick (2.0 hrs), Blanche Wicke (6.25 hrs).

[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
Brown Creeper - 1
Winter Wren - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 20
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5
Hermit Thrush - 2
Nashville Warbler - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 5 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Fox Sparrow - 3
Song Sparrow - 1
White-crowned Sparrow - 1
American Goldfinch - 5 (plus 3 recaptured)
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November 6, 2016

Time open (E.S.T.): 6:15
Time closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open:  6.75
Net Hours: 108.75
Temperature (F): 45-59
Cloud Cover: 20-50-0%
Wind Direction: W-SE
Wind Speed (mph): 1-3-5
Barometer: 29.71 - 29.75
Precipitation:  Fog in a.m.
No. Banded: 41 (plus 7 recaptured)
Species Captured: 12
Capture Rate (#/100 net hours): 44.1
Banding Assistants (8.0 hours worked): Jenifer Benke, Stevie Kuroda, Ava Lau (4.5 hrs), Harry Lau, Rose Lau (4.5 hrs), Tessa Lau, Kim Patrick (7.5 hrs), Bruce Watson, Christian Zammit (2.5 hrs), Julian Zammit (2.5 hrs), Pia Zammit (2.5 hrs).

Black-capped Chickadee - 3 (plus 4 recaptured)
Winter Wren - 1
Hermit Thrush - 2
American Tree Sparrow - 20
Fox Sparrow - 3
Swamp Sparrow - 3
White-throated Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
American Goldfinch - 4 (plus 3 recaptured)
House Sparrow - 1
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