Birding reports from most of southern Ontario indicate a large influx of “new” migrants. Despite the cool/cold wind and general raw feel, we had an influx as well: we encountered 6 “new” species for the year: Bonaparte’s Gulls, Barn Swallow, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Eastern Towhee, and Chipping Sparrow.
Banded 27:
2 Mourning Doves
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 American Robin
2 Song Sparrows
1 Dark-eyed Junco
1 Red-winged Blackbird
3 Brown-headed Cowbirds
12 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 49 spp.
Some pics from Monday:
Fern Hill Burlington, April 11th & 12th:
We’ve had a busy couple of days at Fern Hill Burlington.
April 11th had us all out enjoying the warm weather! There were thundershowers overnight and into the very early morning, but the skies cleared up in time to start our day. Our Young Ornithologist gave the school an update on last week’s banding and birding results during morning assembly. I was impressed with their ability to speak in front of a crowd without turning the shade of a Turkey Vulture’s head-a skill I myself have not yet mastered! During the day we observed a Common Raven flying by with nesting material! It was a beautiful and hopeful sight. We also observed our first Osprey of the year, as well as the first Barn Swallow and Chipping Sparrow. That one barn swallow was a bit of a thorn in my side by the end of the day – being the curious species it is it flew into the open doors to our gymnasium to check out potential nesting areas. I ended up staying late trying to get it out, luckily I succeeded!
We banded a total of 9 birds of 8 species. One interesting catch was a Downy Woodpecker first caught in October 2015. This time we caught it we noted that it’s body feathers were unusually grey and black instead of the bright white and black.
We banded 9:
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
1 Song Sparrows
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 American Goldfinch
1 House Finch
1 House Sparrow
April 12th was quite cooler than yesterday and was overcast all day. We continue to have a great crew of birders popping by the Field Station in the morning and during recess, a lot of newcomers and our regulars as well. In the morning we spotted two Turkey Vultures perched on the edge of our oak forest and we discussed bald heads and kettling. We also spotted two Cooper’s Hawks around the same time leading to a conversation about accipiters.
Today we banded 19 birds of 6 species:
1 American Tree Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
4 Red-winged Blackbirds
10 Brown Headed Cowbirds
1 House Finch
2 American Goldfinches
We recaptured a beautiful older female Junco first banded back in 2015. We also had a couple of exciting first for Spring 2017: a beautiful Eastern Meadowlark during census, an Eastern Towhee, and a Savannah sparrow!
Katherine