Last Summer our thriving Purple Martin colony was decimated in one night by a Racoon. A literature search by Carol Jones suggested that a major predation event was the number one cause of colony collapse – so we’ve been worried that we might have lost the colony. Last year we saw the first Martin on April 1st but this year we didn’t see any and, although there’s been reports of the birds returning to colonies already in southwestern Ontario, we hadn’t seen any Purple Martins at all…..until this morning. Two males visited the gourds and stayed in the vicinity off and on for over half an hour before taking off again. We’re not out of the woods yet but there’s a good chance these visitors will bring more with them. Maybe the colony isn’t dead yet…..keep your fingers crossed.
Banding over the long weekend could probably best be described as ho hum. Not a lot to get excited about either with species or numbers. During the lulls we did manage to get a LOT of wood chips laid down on wet spots on the trails and net lanes.
Every Spring, after the snow melt, river flooding and rains, we get a number of ephemeral ponds – small bodies of water that will dry up as Summer approaches. These ponds are an incredibly rich habitat for a wide variety of creatures – insects, reptiles and amphibians. Local photographer Gail MacLellan has made them her “subject”. On nice sunny days you can find her sitting Zen-like on the observation platforms extending into the ponds, observing and taking pictures. Here’s just some of what she sees:
April 16th; Banded 24:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 Field Sparrows
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
5 White-throated Sparrows
5 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
5 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 44 spp.
April 17th; Banded 51:
1 Mourning Dove
4 Tree Swallows
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 House Wren (1st of the year)
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 American Robin
1 Northern Cardinal
1 American Tree Sparrow
5 Chipping Sparrows
2 Field Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Purple Finch
24 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 48 spp.
Photo Gallery:
Rick
Golly, I love your blog, Springtime & the incredible photos here!
Thank you, again, for all of your work, passion, commitment & generosity!
Thanks Tammy. There’s a number of really good photographers that give freely of their work and, in so doing, make the blog pretty easy to do.