Lake St. Clair Metropark bird banding report - April 7-13, 2018

The typical schedule for starting spring bird banding is to start the first Sunday in April. This year, that was early, on April 1, which we've done before. But it was also Easter that day, and well, WINTER was still exerting itself. So, I decided to delay the first banding day until April 7. Even so, we had two days (7th and 8th) of temperatures on the 30s, and on the first day there was a dusting of snow on the ground, and all the puddles were covered with ice. Because of the cold, and lots of water, a normal setup of 17.5 nets for 6 hours was not accomplished for the first half of the month. We started an hour later than usual to allow temperatures to warm up enough to be safer for the birds, and perhaps a tiny bit more comfortable (?) for the volunteers.

Dusting of snow in the Dogwood Nets area

Small frozen puddle near the Meadow Nets

Highlights of the 38 birds of 9 species banded on Saturday, April 7, included some of the species that starting this early intends to target, namely wintering species that will soon depart, including American Tree Sparrows.

After hatch-year American Tree Sparrow

The 6 Golden-crowned Kinglets banded today were expected, as small numbers of this early migrant are still passing through southern Michigan in early April. But quite unexpected was the two Pine Siskins that were captured adjacent to the thistle feeders annually placed near the Meadow Nets.

After hatch-year male Pine Siskin

These are the first Pine Siskins banded at this new site, and at the marsh station they were only banded in 2012, when 24 were banded there. Interesting birds observed, but not banded, included a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling from the North Marsh, audible all the way over to our banding station nearly 1/2 mile away!

Highlights of the 24 birds of 10 species banded on Sunday, April 8, included another American Tree Sparrow and 2 more Golden-crowned Kinglets. Two singing White-throated Sparrows, not banded, were either overwintering individuals or early migrants.

Highlights of the 108 birds of 18 species banded on Friday, April 13, included a somewhat surprising 4 Eastern Phoebes, given the still chilly temperatures.

Second-year Eastern Phoebe

Difficult to see in the photos, the "molt limit" in the greater secondary coverts allowed this individual to be aged as second-year because the outermost 2 or 3 were very worn with remnants of buffy tips, while most of the inners were unworn with whitish tips.

Second-year Eastern Phoebe

A big surprise was the 40 Golden-crowned Kinglets banded today, which was about the 3rd highest banded in a single day in the park, but was by far the most in spring. The previous one-day spring record was 12. A somewhat early Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a bit unexpected. The first Hermit Thrushes of the spring were banded today, as well as a few more American Tree Sparrows and 2 Dark-eyed Juncos to keep up the winter bird theme.

Second-year female Dark-eyed Junco

Another early migrant is the Fox Sparrow, which can be hit or miss, as we banded only one in spring 2017, and 6 in 2016. Today, we had a single-day record of 8 banded.

After hatch-year Fox Sparrow

Good numbers of Song Sparrows were banded today, as well as a couple of Swamp Sparrows, signaling an influx of migrant sparrows. A Field Sparrow banded today was a bit of a surprise as it was somewhat early, and we typically only band a couple in any given year.

After hatch-year Field Sparrow

Another Pine Siskin banded today rounded out the winter highlights. Interesting birds observed, but not banded included 2 migrating Common Loons flying over, a calling American Woodcock (we finally started at our normal time, before dawn), a calling Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a bunch of Tree Swallows, a single Northern Rough-winged Swallow, 2 singing Winter Wrens, singing Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Eastenr Towhee, and a single Rusty Blackbird.

Banding on these three chilly days could not have been done without the help of the following volunteers: Mike Charlebois, Jacob Charlebois, Guadalupe Cummins, Tamika Jaja, Erin Rowan, and Blanche Wicke.

Detailed Bird Banding Results

April 7, 2018

Time open (E.S.T.): 7:30
Time closed (E.S.T.): 12:15
Hours Open: 4.75
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 6:04
Net Hours: 58.75
Temperature (F):  25-35
Cloud Cover: 10-50%
Wind Direction: W-NE
Wind Speed (mph): 3-5-7
Barometer: 30.09 - 30.07
Precipitation:  None
No. Banded: 38 (plus 12 recaptured, 4 released unbanded)
Species Captured: 9
Capture Rate (#/100 net hours): 91.9
Banding Assistants (7.0 hours worked): Mike Charlebois, Guadalupe Cummins, Erin Rowan.

Black-capped Chickadee - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 6
American Robin - 3 (plus 1 released unbanded)
European Starling - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 1
[Song Sparrow - 2 recaptured]
Red-winged Blackbird - 2 (plus 2 released unbanded)
Pine Siskin - 2
American Goldfinch - 22 (plus 10 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
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April 8, 2018

Time open (E.S.T.): 7:00
Time closed (E.S.T.): 12:00
Hours Open: 5.00
Sunrise (E.S.T.):  6:02
Net Hours: 81.00
Temperature (F): 24-37
Cloud Cover: 20-60%
Wind Direction: WNW-WSW
Wind Speed (mph): 3-5-7
Barometer: 30.10 - 30.12
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 16 (plus 8 recaptured)
Species Captured: 10
Capture Rate (#/100 net hours):  29.6
Banding Assistants (7.5 hours worked): Jacob Charlebois (3.5 hrs), Mike Charlebois (4.0 hrs), Tamika Jaja, Blanche Wicke.

[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
American Robin - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Tree Sparrow - 1
[Song Sparrow - 1 recaptured]
Northern Cardinal - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Common Grackle - 2
American Goldfinch - 3 (plus 3 recaptured)
House Sparrow - 1
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April 13, 2018

Time open (E.S.T.): 6:15
Time closed (E.S.T.): 12:45 
Hours Open: 6.5
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:54
Net Hours: 93.75
Temperature (F): 37-57
Cloud Cover: 100-70-100%
Wind Direction: NE
Wind Speed (mph): 3-5-7
Barometer: 29.87 - 29.84
Precipitation:  None
No. Banded: 108 (plus 18 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
Species Captured: 18
Capture Rate (#/100 net hours): 135.5
Banding Assistants (9.75 hours worked): Mike Charlebois (8.25 hrs), Guadalupe Cummins (9.25 hrs).

Eastern Phoebe - 4
[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]
Brown Creeper - 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 40 (plus 1 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Hermit Thrush - 2
American Robin - 5
American Tree Sparrow - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)
Field Sparrow - 1
Fox Sparrow - 8
Song Sparrow - 19 (plus 2 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 2
Northern Cardinal - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
[House Finch - 1 recaptured]
Pine Siskin - 1
American Goldfinch - 12 (plus 10 recaptured)
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