Ben standing beside the refurbished Net 9’B’….for Ben….or Bountiful. -M-P. LaPlante
I’ve read a fair amount of history about and literature centred on the age of sail. Maybe I was a sailor in a previous life – the thought of running before the Trade Winds or speeding toward the tea and spices of the Orient in the Roaring 40’s has always appealed to me. The thrill of the rigging moaning under the strain and white foam racing alongside as the ship breasts the swell…. But then you get those descriptions of the doldrums, the ship sitting and drifting before the least zephyr, scanning the horizon for just the hint of a wind….waiting…waiting. And although we’re miles away from any salt water, it’s been like sitting enmeshed in the doldrums…waiting for something to happen….hoping that the next day will bring the change you’re hoping for.
Cold temperatures, northerly winds, a little shower activity (with a touch of hail while doing a census) have all contributed to very slow banding at Ruthven. Over these 3 days we have banded just 29, 7 (ouch!), and 12 birds. So…..let’s not talk about banding totals. Some of “our” birds have had some interesting travels of their own:
a) A Northern Saw-whet Owl that we banded on November 8, 2012, was recovered on January 5th of this year in the Minden area.
b) Remember all those Cedar Waxwings we banded last Fall? One of them, banded on October 19th, 2013 just one of 63 we banded that day), was found dead on March 13th of this year in Butler County, Alabama. [We’ve had a couple of other reports of our Fall-banded waxwings being recovered in Georgia – there’s a theme here….]
White-throated Sparrow on its second time through Ruthven Park.
c) Two days ago (25th) we retrapped a White-throated Sparrow that we had banded in April of 2012. It is quite unusual to recover a migrant passerine in the same place en route.
Female Brown-headed Cowbird, Dolly, sporting a chic pink Darvic band.
d) But the neatest story concerns a female Brown-headed Cowbird. We have been capturing cowbirds for Ben Walters and the folks at the University of Western since April 1st. They have built a large aviary where they are housed for eventual studies of their behaviour. The cowbird in question – “Dolly” – was banded on April 17th and held in a large holding cage until Ben picked her up on the 19th. That evening she was given a bright pink Darvic band and placed in a trap used to lure other cowbirds in. Somehow in the course of the next day or so (no one knows for sure), Dolly escaped. As we recovered her early on the morning of the 25th, I’m assuming that she was back at least by the evening of the 24th…if not before – a journey of well over 160 kilometres. Ruthven was her home.
Male White-breasted Nuthatch at the mouth of its nest, close to the front of the Mansion. -P. Thoem
April 25th; Banded 29:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Northern Flicker
1 Tree Swallow
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
3 American Robins
1 Field Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
9 Red-winged Blackbirds
8 Brown-headed Cowbirds
2 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 42 spp.
April 26th; Banded 7:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
ET’s: 43 spp.
April 27th; Banded 12:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Tree Swallow
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 European Starling
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Field Sparrow
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
2 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 45 spp (including the first Spotted Sandpipers of the year)
Rick
Sorry, I disagree with the pink band being “chic”. Instead I think it’s a potential threat to predation in that it removes the bird’s natural camouflage!