April 27th, 2006

Ruthven

Well, what a difference a day makes! And the difference is all in the wind, or lack there of! It was a perfect day for birding, and I have the improved numbers to show for it (censused and banded birds).

I banded the following (33): 5 BLJA, 2 HOWR, 11 RCKI, 1 HETH, 3 CHSP, 2 WTSP, 1 PUFI, and 8 AMGO.

Retrapped (10): 1 BCCH, 3 RCKI, 4 CHSP, 1 BHCO, and 1 AMGO.

I had a couple of firsts for the season: Blue headed Vireo, and Spotted Sandpiper.

The display of wild flowers in the ravine is spectacular, with three kinds of violets (blue, yellow and white) yellow and white trout lilies, spring beauty, wild strawberry, and trilliums that are just breaking. On the NE side of the Mansion a cherry tree is just coming into blossom. Maple trees around the mansion are also in bloom. The leaves will not be far behind, and with them – the warblers!

It was interesting to have netted and banded 5 BLJA today. (They are the first jays banded this spring) Jays are regulars at Ruthven, especially at the feeders, and at this time of year, we tend to get more retrapped birds, with the occasional “new” bird. There were a lot of BLJA’s in the park this morning, and it is always difficult to get a good estimate of their numbers because they are very vocal, and they move around a lot. With the small influx of the birds, it would be natural to conclude that they were just moving through–except that 2 of these jays had brood patches! Go figure!

Loretta

Selkirk

A touch of frost in low lying areas on the way in this morning. There did not seem to be much around early. A few birds move through early in the afternoon. Ended up with a fairly decent day, not much in numbers but a good selection of variety.

Banded: MODO 1, TRES 1, BLJA 1, ETTI 1, RBNU 1, BRCR 1, HOWR 1, RCKI 8, HETH 1, AMRO 1, NAWA 1, MYWA 1, FISP 1, SAVS 1, SOSP 1, WTSP 3, SCJU 2, RWBL 2 = 29 of 18 species.

John

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