Metro Beach banding station report - August 21-31, 2013

Banding was conducted on four days during the last half of August; Wednesday August 21, Saturday August 24, Thursday August 29, and Saturday August 31. This is typically a time of year when there is a buildup of migrants, and this was indeed the case though only in modest numbers, not the first big wave that comes through in most years. Even so, there were some notable captures including a first for the station on August 31 (read on below). Unlike the first half of the month, we had to deal with a fair amount of heat and humidity.

Banding could not have been conducted on these four days without the able assistance of the following volunteers: Mary Buchowski, Jacob Charlebois, Terri Chapdelaine, Stevie Kuroda, Dave Lancaster, Marie McGee, Renee Render, Tom Schlack, Harrison Smith, Joan Tisdale, Bruce Watson, and Blanche Wicke.

Highlights of the 27 birds banded on Wednesday, August 21 included the first migrant flycatchers in the form of two Least Flycatchers.

After hatch-year Least Flycatcher

The first thrush migrant was captured today, a Veery.

Hatch-year Veery

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a single juvenile Great Horned Owl screech-hissing from the trees north of the Upland nets.

Highlights of the 72 birds banded on Saturday, August 24 included an adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird among the 8 banded, the highest so far this fall. For the most part, adult hummingbirds are rarely caught at this banding station in fall, a situation that I do not yet understand, though it might have something to do with the "coastal" nature of the site.

After hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

An Empidonax flycatcher that keyed out to Alder was almost certainly a migrant as no evidence of their summering in the park was noted this year.  Another Marsh Wren brought the season total to 5, a better than average year with a good month left before they depart the area.

Hatch-year Marsh Wren

Among the 6 species of warbler banded today were four season firsts, Tennessee, Nashville, Black-throated Blue, and Ovenbird.

Hatch-year Tennessee Warbler

Sometimes birds show unexpected characters that can confuse the birder, especially with fall warblers! Something that banders see fairly often is retained juvenile wing coverts, which in the case of the Tennessee Warbler can turn a warbler that resides in the "no wing bars" portion of our warbler key to one that shows wing bars. Note that this individual was sexed "female" based on her short wing chord, not by any field observable character.

Hatch-year female Tennessee Warbler

Hatch-year female Nashville Warbler

Hatch-year male Black-throated Blue Warbler

Hatch-year Ovenbird

Interesting birds observed but not banded included two juvenile Great Horned Owls calling in the dark while we were setting up the station, and a Canada Warbler in the bushes near where we set up to band.

Highlights of the 51 birds banded on Thursday, August 29 included 6 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Diversity was not great today, with only 8 species. Here is yet another Tennessee Warbler with retained juvenile coverts, forming wing bars the species is not supposed to show.

Hatch-year Tennessee Warbler

The second Black-throated Blue Warbler of the season was captured today, this one a hatch-year female.

Hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler

Most birders are familiar with the diagnostic white spot at the base of the primaries on the wings to identify female Black-throated Blues. But in hatch-year birds it is very small and in some cases absent altogether! So, what to do when your main field mark is missing? ALWAYS have a back up field mark. The face pattern of females of this species is pretty distinctive, with a dusky gray cheek patch with a narrow white line above and below; and a narrow white "arc" below the eye.

Hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler

Somewhat of a surprise was the first Bay-breasted Warbler of the season, this one identifiable as a male by the small amount of chestnut visible on its flanks (difficult to see in the photo below).

Hatch-year male Bay-breasted Warbler

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included several warblers in a small flock near the Swamp Nets (but alas too high to be caught); Tennessee, Nashville, Magnolia, American Redstart, and Ovenbird.

One non-bird highlight included a moth spotted by banding volunteer, Dave Lancaster. It was large, more than an inch from front to back, and was perched on a tree trunk next to a poison ivy vine. Using flash photography, the violet tones were brought out and allowed the identification to be made: Darling Underwing (Catocala cara).

Darling Underwing (Catocala cara)

The name underwing comes from the brilliant pattern on the hindwings, which are usually covered when the moth is sitting, so are rarely seen. If one gently touches the moth, they might open the wings briefly allowing a view (see below), or they might just fly of quickly.

Darling Underwing (Catocala cara)

Highlights of the 57 birds banded on Saturday, August 31 included 15 warblers of 8 species, one of which would normally be the highlight of the day. But, another bird today overshadowed them all; a station first, Red-tailed Hawk!

Hatch-year Red-tailed Hawk

Because of their large size, Red-tailed Hawks are only rarely caught in songbird nets; they can easily escape the fine mesh. This bird was on the ground near the Field Nets, and tried to fly away, but got caught by its leg (after tearing a hole in the net), and flew back the other way (tearing another hole), then hopping once more into the middle of the net where it was carefully extracted.

Hatch-year Red-tailed Hawk

I headed back to the banding area with Stevie to assist, leaving the other volunteers to finish checking the remainder of the nets. The band size was determined using a leg gage (size 7D), and the wing and tail were measured. The brown-banded tail and even age of the primaries and secondaries indicated it was a hatch-year bird. It is generally not possible to sex Red-tails as there is a lot of overlap in size, unlike many other raptors. It was also not possible to weigh the bird, as the scale at the site only had a capacity of 500 grams, and these birds generally weigh well over 1000 grams. Through it all, the bird kept a defiant attitude.

Hatch-year Red-tailed Hawk

Once everything was recorded, Stevie released the bird.

Stevie Kuroda releasing the hatch-year Red-tailed Hawk

As they probably don't nest in the park, today's Red-eyed Vireo was the first of the fall and almost certainly a migrant. Hatch-year birds have brown eyes.

Hatch-year Red-eyed Vireo

A Yellow Warbler recaptured today may be the last one of the fall, but who knows...I've said that a couple times already this fall. Two Magnolia Warblers banded today were the first banded this fall.

Hatch-year Magnolia Warbler

Two warblers that are early migrants were banded today, a bit later than expected actually. One was the Canada Warbler.

Hatch-year female Canada Warbler

The other "late" early migrant was Mourning Warbler. One was a clearly marked after hatch-year male, and the other was a rather nondescript hatch-year female, showing the extremes of appearance that this species can show in fall.

After hatch-year male Mourning Warbler

Hatch-year female Mourning Warbler

And the most exciting warbler of the day, and a top highlight on any other day, was the Connecticut Warbler found out in the Field Net. This was the 8th Connecticut Warbler banded here since 2004, all in fall, and the 16th since 1989, all but two in fall.

Hatch-year female Connecticut Warbler

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included two Cooper's Hawks, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, a single calling Swainson's Thrush, and three flyover Bobolinks.

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Banding Data
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WEDNESDAY, August 21, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:46
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 11:45
Hours Open: 6.0 (closed early due to heat and humidity)
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 77.00
Temperature (F): 70-81
Cloud Cover: 20-50%
Wind: S-SE @ 3-5-10 mph
Barometer: 29.49-29.77
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 27 (plus 10 recaptured, 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species:13
Capture Rate: 50.6 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 8.00 hours, 5:00-13:00): Renee Render, Tom Schlack, Blanche Wicke (7.5 hrs).

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 5 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Least Flycatcher - 2
[Black-capped Chickadee - 2 recaptured]
House Wren - 1
Marsh Wren - 1
Veery - 1
American Robin - 1 (plus 3 recaptured)
Cedar Waxwing - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 2 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 4
[Swamp Sparrow - 1 released unbanded]
American Goldfinch - 8 (plus 4 recaptured)

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SATURDAY, August 24, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:49
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:30
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 95.50
Temperature (F): 59-79
Cloud Cover: 10%
Wind: NW-SE @ 1-3-7 mph
Barometer: 29.62-29.67
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 72 (plus 14 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 16
Capture Rate: 92.1 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): Stevie Kuroda (2.5 hrs), Renee Render (4.5 hrs), Joan Tisdale, Bruce Watson (2.5 hrs), Blanche Wicke.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird -8 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Alder Flycatcher - 1
House Wren - 3
Marsh Wren - 1
American Robin - 5 (plus 1 recaptured)
Cedar Waxwing - 3
Tennessee Warbler - 4
Nashville Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 8 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
American Goldfinch - 28 (plus 11 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)

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THURSDAY, August 29, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:54
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:15
Hours Open: 6.25 (closed early due to heat and humidity)
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 86.25
Temperature (F): 69-84
Cloud Cover: 0-20%
Wind: NW @ 1-3-5 mph
Barometer: 29.49-29.45
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 51 (plus 14 recaptured)
No. of Species:8
Capture Rate: 75.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 8.0 hours, 5:00-13:00): Mary Buchowski (5.0 hrs), Jacob Charlebois (5.5 hrs), Dave Lancaster, Marie McGee, Renee Render, Tom Schlack (5.5 hrs), Harrison Smith (5.5 hrs), Joan Tisdale, Blanche Wicke.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Nashville Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Bay-breasted Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 11 (plus 4 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 26 (plus 9 recaptured)

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SATURDAY, August 31, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:57
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:45
Hours Open: 7.0
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 91.00
Temperature (F): 73-79
Cloud Cover: 100-70-100%
Wind: NE @ 3-7-0 mph
Barometer: 29.15-29.22
Precipitation: Trace Rain
No. Banded: 57 (plus 16 recaptured, 3 released unbanded)
No. of Species:19
Capture Rate: 83.5 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): Terri Chapdelaine, Stevie Kuroda, Bruce Watson, Blanche Wicke.

RED-TAILED HAWK - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird -4
Northern Flicker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
House Wren - 1
Veery - 1
Nashville Warbler - 2
[Yellow Warbler - 1 recaptured]
Magnolia Warbler - 2
Ovenbird - 2
CONNECTICUT WARBLER - 1
Mourning Warbler - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 3 (plus 1 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)
Canada Warbler - 1
Song Sparrow - 6 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 1
American Goldfinch - 26 (plus 13 recaptured, 1 released unbanded)

Metro Beach banding station report - August 4-15, 2013

Bird banding during the first half of August at Lake St. Clair Metropark typically documents some of the breeding success of locally nesting species, and on the four days banding was conducted that was indeed the case. The first day, Sunday August 4, was a day for clearing net lanes, and also for hand-sawing some limbs out of a net lane where a tree had fallen during the summer. The next two banding days, Thursday August 8 and Sunday August 11, were very productive, with more than 100 birds banded each day; something that is extraordinary at this site for this early in the season. As expected, all were locally breeding species, but with a single individual of a migrant on August 11 (see details below). Thursday August 15 was a more normal day as far as numbers, and no migrants. The weather during this two week period was cooler than normal, and also wetter though thankfully we mostly avoided rain on these four days.

Banding would not be possible at this site without the able assistance of volunteers. Many thanks to the following volunteers for helping on these four days: Rebecca Blundell, Brandon Charlebois, Chris Charlebois, Jacob Charlebois, Mike Charlebois, Trisha Charlebois, Stevie Kuroda, Jean Gramlich, Renee Render, Joan Tisdale, Bruce Watson, and Blanche Wicke.

Highlights of the 31 birds banded on Sunday, August 4 included of course the first bird of the season, a Yellow Warbler. They are an early migrant, often with the peak of movement during late July or early August. In 2012, only a single Yellow Warbler was banded, as they may have had a poor nesting season and left even earlier.

After hatch-year female Yellow Warbler

An infrequently captured species at this station is Northern Flicker, so it was nice to catch this male. It was difficult to age this one more precisely, as it seemed to have the uniform primary coverts of a hatch-year, but was symmetrically molting primaries and also appeared to have a diminishing brood patch, making it an adult.

After hatch-year male Northern Flicker

At least one pair of Willow Flycatchers was present in the marsh all summer long, which is typical of most years with Alders being present in some years (but not this year). So it was not unexpected to catch one of them today, and it was also helpful that the wing formula "keyed out" to the correct species.

Hatch-year Willow Flycatcher

Warbling Vireos nest commonly in the park, and also in the banding area, and many will migrate during August.

Hatch-year Warbling Vireo

Cedar Waxwings are not captured at this site every year. It was a little unexpected capturing two of them today as the dogwood berries out in the Field Nets, where they were captured, are not yet ripe. Waxwings are late nesters, and the female here was showing an extensive brood patch, a sign that incubation or feeding of young is still going on.

After hatch-year female Cedar Waxwing

Another common nesting species that early banding documents in good numbers each fall is the Common Yellowthroat. Many juveniles, with their cinnamon wing bars that confuse even moderately experienced birders, are banded during August.

Hatch-year Common Yellowthroat

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a couple of Marsh Wrens calling in the marsh near the Field Nets.

Highlights of the 118 birds banded on Thursday, August 8 included the first three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds of the fall.

Hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Eastern Wood-Pewees nest in the park, and in the banding area, but are sometimes missed entirely during a fall season, so it was encouraging to catch one today, one of the young produced in the park this year.

Hatch-year Eastern Wood-Pewee

The number of Marsh Wrens in the banding area this summer was larger than normal, so hopefully it will be a good season for them. The number banded here each fall varies considerably, from a low of just one, to a high of 27 (before 2004).

Hatch-year Marsh Wren

The excellent number of 22 Yellow Warblers banded today included a few that were still retaining some juvenile plumage, which consists of a white belly and a lot of gray feathers on the upperparts. After fledging, they quickly molt out of this plumage into a first basic plumage that is mostly yellow. The individual below is in heavy molt.

Hatch-year Yellow Warbler

Most of the day, a male Indigo Bunting had been singing an abbreviated song down the road a short distance from some of the nets (Upland area). Later in the day, while that bird was still singing, a male dropped into the Upland Nets.

After second-year male Indigo Bunting

Baltimore Orioles are another species we hope to catch early in the season, and we did band one new one and recaptured two others that likely bred in the area.

After hatch-year male Baltimore Oriole.

House Finches are not often banded at this station, with the previous record for a single season being just three individuals. So it was very surprising to band 13 of them today! They were visiting the thistle sock feeders near the Field Nets, which they have been doing for several years without being caught in such numbers. But previously, they would fly up to the top of the dead ash tree in the center of these nets, then back down to the feeders, deftly avoiding getting caught. With the tree now fallen (see the spring 2013 blog entries), it is apparent that they now fly back and forth to the much smaller dogwoods, thus getting caught more often.

Hatch-year House Finch

Interesting birds observed but not banded today included hundreds of swallows moving from north to south, including many Bank Swallows which is the earliest species to depart, along with Purple Martin. As is typical, all were very high over the banding area so not catch-able.

Highlights of the 101 birds banded on Sunday, August 11 included four more Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and a rarely captured resident species, a Red-bellied Woodpecker. This individual was clearly a juvenile based on the amount of brown in the crown, but the large patch of red there indicated it was a male.

Hatch-year male Red-bellied Woodpecker

The first migrant of the fall season was captured today, a Northern Waterthrush, which is often one of the first warbler to arrive from breeding areas north of the banding area.

Hatch-year Northern Waterthrush

Some years, Red-winged Blackbirds linger in the marsh into August, while in most years they depart to feed in the open grassy areas of the park, and in farmland elsewhere in the county. This year, and today especially, there were quite a few with most being juveniles. It can be a little tricky telling hatch-year male from female Red-winged Blackbirds. One way is by wing length, with females tending to be 92-99 mm, and males tending to be 104-109mm. But some individuals have not fully grown their wings and tails, so I have found that a different method works better...checking the size of their legs. Males take a bigger band size than females, and this character appears to stabilize before wing length. And a back up character is weight, with females weight being in the 40s (grams), and males being in the 50s or 60s.

Hatch-year male Red-winged Blackbird

It didn't take long for the local American Goldfinches to find the thistle sock feeders near the Field Nets. In fact, within an hour of them going up on August 4 there were birds on them. Most have been hatch-year birds, but some adults have been caught as well. Some males, like the one below, appear to have much blacker wings than they do in spring due to the wearing off of the white covert tips that create their wing bars.

After hatch-year male American Goldfinch

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a flyover Caspian Tern and a flyover Belted Kingfisher.

Highlights of the 40 birds banded on Thursday, August 15 included two more Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and a resident species that only rarely wanders back to the banding area, a Tufted Titmouse. This juvenile had a short crest and only a limited amount of black on the forehead.

Hatch-year Tufted Titmouse

Gray Catbirds nest in the banding area in small numbers, and this summer only a single individual has been detected on surveys. The confirmation of breeding came when a hatch-year bird was captured today. The grayish-brown eye will fairly quickly change to dark brown, and in a few months can be maroon.

Hatch-year Gray Catbird

Among the 5 Cedar Waxwings banded today were two juveniles, and this nice adult male.

After hatch-year male Cedar Waxwing

Interesting birds observed but not banded included flyover Double-crested Cormorant, and two Cooper's Hawks.


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Banding Data
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SUNDAY, August 4, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:28
Time Open (E.S.T.): 8:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open:4.5
No. of Nets:5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 49.00
Temperature (F):64-72
Cloud Cover: 0-50%
Wind: WNW @ 5-7-10 mph
Barometer: 29.47-29.51
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 31 (plus 1 recaptured, 2 released unbanded)
No. of Species:11
Capture Rate: 60/4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 8.75 hours, 6:00-14:45): Chris Charlebois (4.0 hrs), Jacob Charlebois, Stevie Kuroda, Joan Tisdale, Bruce Watson.

Northern Flicker - 1
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Warbling Vireo - 2
Black-capped Chickadee - 2
[House Wren - 1 released unbanded]
American Robin - 1 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Yellow Warbler - 5
Common Yellowthroat - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 7
American Goldfinch - 5

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THURSDAY, August 8, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:32
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:45
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 91.00
Temperature (F):66-73
Cloud Cover: 60-80-60%
Wind: NNW-N @ 7-10 mph
Barometer: 29.33-29.38
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 118 (plus 14 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
No. of Species:19
Capture Rate: 146.2 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): Rebecca Blundell, Brandon Charlebois, Chris Charlebois (4.0 hrs), Jacob Charlebois, Mike Charlebois, Trisha Charlebois, Renee Render (5.0 hrs), Joan Tisdale.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3
[Downy Woodpecker - 1 recaptured]
Northern Flicker - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Warbling Vireo - 1
House Wren - 2
Marsh Wren - 2
American Robin - 5 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Cedar Waxwing - 1
Yellow Warbler - 22 (plus 3 released unbanded)
Common Yellowthroat - 11
Song Sparrow - 20 (plus 4 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 9
Northern Cardinal - 1
Indigo Bunting - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
House Finch - 13
American Goldfinch - 23 (plus 3 recaptured)

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SUNDAY, August 11, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:35
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.00
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 91.00
Temperature (F): 64-77
Cloud Cover: 95-100-50%
Wind: W-NW @ 3-5-7 mph
Barometer: 29.50-29.46
Precipitation: Trace rain
No. Banded: 101 (plus 27 recaptured and 5 released unbanded)
No. of Species:20
Capture Rate: 146.2 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): Jacob Charlebois, Mike Charlebois (5.5 hrs), Renee Render, Stevie Kuroda, Bruce Watson.

[Mourning Dove - 2 released unbanded]
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Willow Flycatcher - 2
Warbling Vireo - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 2
House Wren -3
Marsh Wren - 1
American Robin - 3
Cedar Waxwing - 3
Yellow Warbler - 4 (plus 3 recaptured)
Northern Waterthrush - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 8 (plus 6 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 4 (plus 1 recaptured)
Northern Cardinal - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 41 (plus 1 released unbanded)
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
House Finch - 9 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 8 (plus 15 recaptured and 2 released unbanded)

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THURSDAY, August 15, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 5:40
Time Open (E.S.T.): 6:00
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:00
Hours Open: 6.0
No. of Nets: 5.0-14.0
Net Hours: 77.00
Temperature (F): 54-70
Cloud Cover: 10-30%
Wind: WNW-SE @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 29.52-29.52
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 40 (plus 15 recaptured)
No. of Species: 14
Capture Rate: 71.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.0 hours, 5:00-14:00): Brandon Charlebois (2.5 hrs), Jacob Charlebois (6.0 hrs), Jean Gramlich, Renee Render, Blanche Wicke (7.5 hrs).

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2
Willow Flycatcher - 2
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Warbling Vireo - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
House Wren - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Robin - 2
Gray Catbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 5
Yellow Warbler - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Common Yellowthroat - 3 (plus 2 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 9 (plus 4 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
House Finch - 4
American Goldfinch - 2 (plus 6 recaptured)

Summer Hummingbirds

Beginning in June, I turn my attention away from songbird banding to focus on Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. My 2012 Hummingbird Banding Summary has finally been completed, and can be found here. This year, my hummingbird banding season began at a location in Calhoun County, Michigan where I normally band 100+ over the summer season, typically in three visits (June, July, and August). I chose to start at this location because I had invited an NPR reporter, Rebecca Williams, who does the Environment Report for Michigan Radio to accompany us for a report she was doing on volunteer research in Michigan. Her four minute report, distilled down from the three hours she spent with us (Rich and Brenda Keith, Jo Ellen Van Galder, and the homeowner Mary Bird) aired on June 20, 2013, and you can listen to it here.

Perhaps the most frequently asked question that I get this time of year is, "where are all the hummingbirds this year?". I get this question annually, and  have three standard responses. But this year something really does seem different. First, my three standard responses.

First, a majority of homeowners hosting hummingbirds throughout Michigan are not "birders" in the sense that many of us think of birders; they do not own binoculars or a field guide, and don't travel anywhere to look at birds. And they often do not write down notes about their hummingbirds, but instead rely on memory. Often, the memory of the previous year's numbers are based on the swarms of birds that they may have had during August, when all the young are fledged and visiting feeders, as well as migrating adult males, and adult females that are then free of nesting duties and also visiting feeders again. Many do not remember that fewer birds arrived in spring than they had in late summer. This explains to quite a few people why they seem have fewer hummingbirds right now in early summer.

Second is another issue related to observer's memory of the previous year, which relates to the annual cycle of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. When they arrive in early to mid-May, the females begin building their nests, with no help from the males. At this time, both males and females frequently visit feeders. Once their nests are completed, after a week or ten days, they lay their eggs and begin incubation, again with no help from the males. Females can spend up to three hours on the nest, and when they take breaks for food the tend not to travel far, so they can get right back to the nest. This results in far fewer visits to feeders by females. The males, being focused on defending feeding territories, and mating with females, often disperse at this time because of the lack of females to chase, and also because wild food sources begin to become more frequent, resulting in fewer feeder visits by males as well. After about 14 days, the eggs hatch and the females, still without any help from the males, begin feeding the nestlings which will leave the nest at an age of 18-22 days (one year, with a cool, wet summer, it took 29 days). They feed their young almost entirely insects, which means that they are not going to visit feeders very often during this time either.

My third response relates simply to variations in populations between years, and between locations. There is a tendency to judge an entire state, or even the entire breeding range of a species, based on observations in your own back yard. This is not wise! Every year I conduct more than a dozen programs on hummingbirds, including some where I demonstrate hummingbird banding. At these events, I often query the audience about how many of them are observing fewer hummingbirds than what they consider normal. Typically, about 10-15% of the audience will raise their hands. This is the "vocal minority" of observers that are the source of all the "where are my hummingirds?" queries! I then ask, how many people have more than normal, and often 10-15% will raise their hands. This leaves 70-80% who have about normal numbers. I have been doing this for about 10 years, and the response has been remarkably consistent. Even at the most recent event, at Lake Hope State Park, in southeastern Ohio (where I banded 33 hummers in 1 1/2 hours), the response was about the same.

 

But this year, especially in the more northern regions, something seems to be different. The number of observers reporting lower numbers seems to be much higher. As I've now visited a number of sites where I typically band good numbers, there seems to be some solid evidence for numbers being down at a lot of places. At sites where I expect to band maybe 20-30 hummingbirds in a couple hours, I've been banding only 10 or so, with similar effort to previous years. The standardization of effort is the most important part, if this year's numbers are to be properly documented. Decreased effort, due to a lack of birds, will skew the data to fewer birds, so it is important to put in a similar effort to previous years. The summer season is not over, so I will be continuing to try to band as much as I have in previous years. However, there is some contradictory evidence to this preliminary data.  I have added two new banding sites this year, which have both had good numbers of birds; 17 banded in two hours at a location in Lyndon Twp., Washtenaw County, and 30 banded in two hours at a location near Montgomery, Hillsdale County.

Documenting population cycles is an important part of the hummingbird research of my Great Lakes HummerNet project. Finding explanations for increases or decreases is much more difficult. In thinking about this over the past couple of months, I think that we can rule out any concerns about the spring migration being "late", because in reality it was only later than the very odd 2012 spring season, with the weather conditions this year being typical of springs from the 1970s and 1980s. This can be verified by looking at the Spring Migration Maps that I've been producing since 2001. One explanation that seems to make sense to me is a possible link with the drought from the summer of 2012. Last year, the entire Upper Midwest (and more) experienced extreme drought. Quite a few bird species seemed to have poor nesting seasons last year, including those that depend a lot on insects, which includes Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Perhaps they were not as productive last summer, resulting in fewer hummingbirds heading south for the winter, and of course with even fewer returning north in the spring?

On an entirely different topic, I am long overdue in sharing the banding results from spring banding at my ~7-acre site in Pt. Rosa Marsh at Lake St. Clair Metropark, Macomb County, Michigan. A basic summary of the season is provided below, with a more thorough report to follow sometime this fall.

Banding was conducted on a total of 16 days this spring, which is about average. Three days were canceled, two due to rain and one due to a family health issue. It was wetter than average, and MUCH wetter than last year's drought-stricken spring. A lot of the migration, especially sparrows and thrushes, may have overflown our site this spring. A total of 790 birds (2nd highest since 2004) of 68 species (highest since 2004) was banded, though the overall capture rate of 78.8 birds per 100 net hours was only the 5th highest since 2004. The 20,000th bird banded since 2004 was captured on the second to last banding day (June 7), an after second-year male Yellow Warbler shown above. Here is the species tally, with unusual species in all caps, and number per 100 net hours in parentheses. Significant misses this spring included Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Black-throated Blue and Mourning Warblers, and White-crowned Sparrow.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER - 1 (0.07) [Station first!!!]
AMERICAN WOODCOCK - 1 (0.07)
MOURNING DOVE - 3 (0.22)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 9 (0.65)
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER - 1 (0.07)
Downy Woodpecker - 10 (0.72)
Hairy Woodpecker - 2 (0.14)
Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker - 1 (0.07)
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 3 (0.22)
Alder Flycatcher - 4 (0.29)
Willow Flycatcher - 1 (0.07)
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 4 (0.29)
Least Flycatcher - 2 (0.14)
Eastern Phoebe - 4 (0.29)
Warbling Vireo - 3 (0.22)
Blue Jay - 15 (1.08)
Tree Swallow - 10 (0.72)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 11 (0.79)
Barn Swallow - 2 (0.14)
Black-capped Chickadee - 7 (0.50)
Tufted Titmouse - 1 (0.07)
Brown Creeper - 13 (0.94)
Carolina Wren - 4 (0.29)
House Wren - 4 (0.29)
Winter Wren - 2 (0.14)
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 18 (1.30)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11 (0.79)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1 (0.07)
Veery - 10 (0.72)
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 2 (0.14)
Swainson's Thrush - 4 (0.29)
Hermit Thrush - 19 (1.37)
American Robin - 33 (2.38)
Gray Catbird - 9 (0.65)
European Starling - 17 (1.23)
Cedar Waxwing - 3 (0.22)
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER - 1 (0.07)
Nashville Warbler - 1 (0.07)
Yellow Warbler - 44 (3.17)
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 4 (0.29)
Magnolia Warbler - 18 (1.30)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 11 (0.79)
Black-throated Green Warbler - 2 (0.14)
(Western) Palm Warbler - 1 (0.07)
Black-and-white Warbler - 6 (0.43)
American Redstart - 15 (1.08)
Ovenbird - 11 (0.79)
Northern Waterthrush - 9 (0.65)
Common Yellowthroat - 36 (2.60)
Wilson's Warbler - 4 (0.29)
Canada Warbler - 1 (0.07)
SCARLET TANAGER - 1 (0.07)
Northern Cardinal - 7 (0.50)
Indigo Bunting - 2 (0.14)
Eastern Towhee - 1 (0.07)
American Tree Sparrow - 9 (0.65)
SAVANNAH SPARROW - 1 (0.07)
Fox Sparrow - 3 (0.22)
Song Sparrow - 25 (1.80)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 7 (0.50)
Swamp Sparrow - 53 (3.82)
White-throated Sparrow - 21 (1.51)
Red-winged Blackbird - 101 (7.28)
RUSTY BLACKBIRD - 1 (0.07)
Common Grackle - 18 (1.30)
Brown-headed Cowbird - 9 (0.65)
Baltimore Oriole - 10 (0.72)
American Goldfinch - 111 (8.00)
House Sparrow - 1 (0.07)

Thank you to the following volunteers for making banding possible this spring: John Bieganowski, David Boon, Mary Buchowski, Jacob Charlebois, Jean Gramlich, Dave Lancaster, Mary Mangas, Steve Mangas, Kathy McDonald, Marie McGee, Scott Nottmeier, Anne Ross, Tom Schlack, Edie Schmitz, Joan Tisdale, Ai Wen, and Blanche Wicke.

FALL BANDING STARTS IN JUST TWO WEEKS !!!

Metro Beach banding report - May 30 - June 8, 2013

Late migrants have been banded at this station into the first week of June, which is why the season is extended into this month. In addition, this last week or so typically results in the capture of the first fledged young of some locally breeding species, as well as documenting the initiation of breeding of others through the detection of brood patches, cloacal protuberances, or visible eggs in their abdomens. Other than one final migrant on May 30, this week's results focused on the latter though there were still some interesting captures. In addition to banding on Thursday, May 30, an attempt was made to band a third day this week, on Saturday, June 1, to compensate for the days rained out earlier in the season. But ironically, the threat of rain caused me to cancel this day too, something that I rarely do in advance. And unfortunately, the rain never materialized despite the dire predictions on The Weather Channel and elsewhere. Banding on Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8 went well, with good weather both days.

Banding could not have been conducted on these three days without the help of the following volunteers: John Bieganowski, Jacob Charlebois, Mary Mangas, Steve Mangas, Marie McGee, Tom Schlack, Joan Tisdale, and Blanche Wicke.

Highlights of the 29 birds banded on Thursday, May 30 included only a single migrant, and the last migrant of the spring season, a single Swainson's Thrush.

After hatch-year Swainson's Thrush

Interesting birds observed but not banded included flyover Green Heron and Black-crowned Night-Heron, and a reappearance of winnowing Wilson's Snipe after they'd fallen silent for a couple weeks. Other migrants in the banding area were singles of Wood Thrush and Wilson's Warbler.

Highlights of the 71 birds banded on Friday, June 7 included the 20,000th bird banded here since 2004, a Yellow Warbler. It was also the 42nd Yellow Warbler banded this spring, along with 20 individuals returning from previous years. So this common nesting species is a fitting milestone.

Second-year male Yellow Warbler. 20,000th bird banded!

And, here is the happy banding crew with this celebrity bird.

Left to Right, Allen Chartier, Steve Mangas, Yellow Watrbler,
Tom Schlack, Marie McGee

An amazing SEVEN Northern Rough-winged Swallows were banded today, including males with cloacal protuberances and females with brood patches.

After hatch-year male Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Another surprise today was the capture of two Cedar Waxwings, only the second and third of the spring.

After hatch-year female Cedar Waxwing

One of the waxwings I aged as second-year based on a single old and worn retained (apparent) juvenile primary feather.

Second-year female Cedar Waxwing

Yet another surprise was a stunning male Indigo Bunting...a surprise since none have been heard singing in the banding area all spring. It had a cloacal protuberance, so was likely breeding in the area but may have been a late migant.

Second-year male Indigo Bunting

 More expected were the recently fledged young of American Robin and European Starling.

Hatch-year American Robin

 

Hatch-year European Starling

 Many banding stations do not band non-native species, like House Sparrows and European Starlings, but the protocol established at this station by my predecessor, Ellie Cox, means that all these get banded. Typically, very few are captured, but this spring there have been many more European Starlings than ever before. Among the SIX banded today (more than in most YEARS), were two adults allowing a comparison of the pink bill base of the female and the blue bill base of the male.

After hatch-year female European Starling

After hatch-year male European Starling

But the biggest surprise of the day came around noon, when an American Woodcock blundered into a net we had just walked past 5 minutes prior. They do nest in the banding area, but are rarely detected after they stop displaying in mid-April, though this is not the first banded here. This was the fourth since 2004, and the third in spring.

After second-year male American Woodcock

After second-year male American Woodcock

 Highlights of the 32 birds banded on Saturday, June 8 included three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, which included two nice adult males. The two photos below show quite well the directional characteristic of the red iridescence on the throat. Almost every year, someone communicates with me that they have a Black-chinned Hummingbird coming to their feeder, but so far in every case it has been a Ruby-throat in lighting conditions that did not reflect the red of the throat, but mostly (or entirely) black.

After hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Of course, at the right angle, the throat glows ruby-red as expected.

After hatch-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

 Two more American Goldfinches banded today, including the bright after second-year male below, brought the season's total to a record of 111.

After second-year male American Goldfinch

 Seven more Red-winged Blackbirds banded today brough the season's total to 101, which is on a par with the totals for the past 5 spring seasons, but higher than in earlier years. The second-year male below was a bit unusual in that it looked a lot like a female, lacking coloration in the shoulders. But it was clearly larger, as males tend to weigh about 60 grams and females about 40.

Second-year male Red-winged Blackbird

And the last bird banded in the Spring 2013 season  was a second-year female (large brood patch) Common Grackle.

Second-year male Common Grackle

Interesting birds observed but not banded included a flyover Great Egret, a singing Willow Flycatcher, singing Red-eyed Vireo (probably not nesting), and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (probably nesting).

============================
Banding Data
-------------------------------------
THURSDAY, May 30, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 4:59
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 12:45
Hours Open: 7.0
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.75
Net Hours:89.25
Temperature (F): 64-79
Cloud Cover: 30-10-60%
Wind: SSW @ 3-5-12 mph
Barometer: 29.42-29.40
Precipitation: None (thunderstorms after close)
No. Banded: 29 (plus 21 recaptured)
No. of Species: 13
Capture Rate: 56.0 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): John Bieganowski, Dave Lancaster, Marie McGee, Tom Schlack.

Downy Woodpecker - 1
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Swainson's Thrush - 1
American Robin - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)
European Starling - 1
Yellow Warbler - 2 (plus 4 recaptured)
[Common Yellowthroat - 3 recaptured][Song Sparrow - 2 recaptured]
Swamp Sparrow - 1 (plus 2 recaptured)
Red-winged Blackbird - 4 (plus 4 recaptured)
Common Grackle - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 1
American Goldfinch - 14 (plus 3 recaptured)

-------------------------------------
FRIDAY, June 7, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 4:56
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:15
Hours Open: 7.50
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.75
Net Hours: 96.125
Temperature (F): 55-59
Cloud Cover: 100%
Wind: NNW-NNE @ 3-5-10 mph
Barometer: 29.27-29.28
Precipitation: Trace rain
No. Banded: 71 (plus 25 recaptured and 3 released unbanded)
No. of Species: 23
Capture Rate: 103.0 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 10.5 hours, 5:00-15:30): Steve Mangas, Marie McGee, Tom Schlack.

AMERICAN WOODCOCK - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3
Willow Flycatcher - 1
["Traill's" Flycatcher -1 recaptured]
Tree Swallow - 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow -7
[Black-capped Chickadee - 3 recaptured]
House Wren - 1
American Robin -6 (plus 1 recaptured)
[Gray Catbird - 1 recaptured]
European Starling - 6
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Yellow Warbler - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Song Sparrow - 6 (plus 6 recaptured and 1 released unbanded)
Swamp Sparrow - 2
[Northern Cardinal - 1 recaptured]
Indigo Bunting - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 23 (plus 5 recaptured)
Common Grackle - 4 (plus 2 released unbanded)
[Brown-headed Cowbird - 1 recaptured]
[Baltimore Oriole - 2 recaptured]
American Goldfinch - 3 (plus 2 recaptured)

-------------------------------------
SATURDAY, June 8, 2013
Sunrise (E.S.T.): 4:56
Time Open (E.S.T.): 5:45
Time Closed (E.S.T.): 13:00
Hours Open: 7.25
No. of Nets: 4.75-13.75
Net Hours: 93.938
Temperature (F):59-66
Cloud Cover: 100-80%
Wind: NW-SE @ 1-3-10 mph
Barometer: 29.30-29.39
Precipitation: None
No. Banded: 32 (plus 21 recaptured)
No. of Species: 13
Capture Rate: 56.4 birds per 100 net hours
Volunteers (worked 9.5 hours, 5:00-14:30): Jacob Charlebois (6.0 hrs), Mary Mangas, Steve Mangas, Dave Lancaster (5.5 hrs), Joan Tisdale, Blanche Wicke.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird -3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2
American Robin - 4 (plus 2 recaptured)
European Starling - 3 (plus 1 recaptured)
Yellow Warbler - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (plus 4 recaptured)
Song Sparrow - 2 (plus 2 recaptured)
Swamp Sparrow - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
Red-winged Blackbird - 7 (plus 5 recaptured)
Common Grackle -3
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 1 (plus 1 recaptured)
American Goldfinch - 2 (plus 4 recaptured)