Changing Seasons - January 3, 2013

The fall songbird banding season ended on October 31, while the "winter" hummingbird banding season was already under way. I had no time to look back, and from mid-October to early December I banded a total of 17 Rufous Hummingbirds...6 in Michigan and 11 in Ohio, requiring more than 5000 miles of driving. There were also several that "got away" before I could get to them, but some are still on site as of today.

Adult male Rufous Hummingbird

And now, winter has settled in to southeastern Michigan, and much of Indiana and Ohio. On December 27, I did a bird survey that included the banding area at Lake St. Clair Metro Park, and took the photo below. This is looking southward toward the Field Nets. Volunteers will notice that the dead ash tree in the center of the dogwoods in the middle of these nets is not there. It has fallen down in a very inconvenient direction, so we'll have to come up with a plan this spring.

So now that the hummingbird reports have slowed way down, I can look backward again and present here the fall songbird banding results from Lake St. Clair Metro Park, Macomb County, Michigan.

Station was operated on 26 days from 5 August - 3 November 2012.
Nets were open a total of 161.25 hours for a total of 2067 Net Hours.
A total of 1889 new birds was banded of 76 species.
A total of 215 recaptures was noted, including an additional species, Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Overall capture rate was 104.0 birds per 100 net hours.
A total of 25 volunteers assisted for a total of 923.5 hours.

Mourning Dove - 5 (record)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 76
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 10
Northern Flicker - 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 2
Alder Flycatcher - 1
Willow Flycatcher - 4
"Traill's" Flycatcher -6
Least Flycatcher - 5
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 2
Red-eyed Vireo - 6
Black-capped Chickadee - 25
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 9 (record)
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Brown Creeper - 32 (record)
Carolina Wren - 4
House Wren - 14
Winter Wren - 24 (record)
Marsh Wren - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 90
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 65
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Veery - 3
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 10
Swainson's Thrush - 49
Hermit Thrush - 79
Wood Thrush - 2
American Robin - 6
Gray Catbird - 4 (low)
Brown Thrasher - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 28
Orange-crowned Warbler - 6
Nashville Warbler - 67
Northern Parula - 2
Yellow Warbler - 2 (low)
Magnolia Warbler - 22
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 34
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 37
Black-throated Green Warbler -6
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Palm Warbler - 9
Bay-breasted Warbler - 7
Blackpoll Warbler - 35
Black-and-white Warbler - 2
American Redstart - 18
Ovenbird - 15
Northern Waterthrush - 8
Connecticut Warbler - 3 (record)
Mourning Warbler - 6
Common Yellowthroat - 77
Wilson's Warbler - 6 (low)
Canada Warbler - 1 (low)
Northern Cardinal - 19
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 2
Indigo Bunting - 4
Eastern Towhee - 1
American Tree Sparrow - 36 (record)
Chipping Sparrow - 1 (rare here)
Field Sparrow - 2 (rare here)
Fox Sparrow - 8
Song Sparrow - 215
Lincoln's Sparrow - 5 (low)
Swamp Sparrow - 59
White-throated Sparrow - 175
White-crowned Sparrow - 16
Dark-eyed Junco - 3
Red-winged Blackbird - 3
Baltimore Oriole - 3
Purple Finch - 1 (rare here)
Pine Siskin - 24 (station first)
American Goldfinch - 375

Thank you to the following volunteers for helping out this fall: John Bieganowski, Rebecca Blundell, Paul Bowling, Charlotte Calhoun, Doug J. Carmack, Terri L. Chapdelaine, Brandon Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Jacob Charlebois, Mike Charlebois, Trisha Charlebois, Kathleen Dougherty, Jean M. Gramlich, Stevie M. Kuroda, Dave J. Lancaster, Kathy McDonald, Marie C. McGee, Ronnie Joseph Midgett, Anne Ross, Tom A. Schlack, Edie Schmitz, Michelle Serreyn, Joan M. Tisdale, Bruce R. Watson, Blanche H. Wicke, and Susan B. Wright.

Sometime in the next couple of months, a very detailed banding report will be posted to my website at: www.amazilia.net/MetroBeachBanding/