Yesterday, the first “official” day of Spring banding at Ruthven was pretty well a wash out although Loretta briefly braved the elements and ended up banding 1 American Robin. Tomorrow they are calling for heavy rain. So….today was the day….and it was. There was a lot of bird movement through and about Ruthven this morning. Lots of Dark-eyed Juncos about (I estimated at least 50); a wave of Golden-crowned Kinglets; a flock of Tundra Swans; 4 Sandhill Cranes – 3 climbing thermals and heading west, 1 coasting east; the first Fox Sparrows and Winter Wren of the season; singing White-throated Sparrows. There were even swarms of midges taking advantage of the high temperatures and 2 butterflies: a Comma and a Mourning Cloak. The background music for the day was provided by Chorus Frogs. It was a very Spring day.
Banded 47:
- 1 Mourning Dove
- 1 Blue Jay
- 1 Winter Wren
- 9 Golden-crowned Kinglets
- 2 American Robins
- 2 American Tree Sparrows
- 2 Fox Sparrows
- 20 Dark-eyed Juncos
- 2 Pine Siskins
- 7 American Goldfinches
Retrapped 17:
- 2 Downy Woodpeckers
- 1 Black-capped Chickadees
- 2Â American Tree Sparrows
- 6 Song Sparrows
- 2 White-throated Sparrows
- 7 Dark-eyed Juncos
ET’s:Â Â 43 spp.
Rick