An overcast morning with all the hallmarks of a decent birding day. The hallmarks were obviously forged however as in reality dawn was fairly slow with few species (33) being observed on census and only 2 Common Loon flying over. The highlight of the morning was the capture of a Yellow-Breasted Chat, only the second ever banded at the park.

As the day progressed though the number of banded birds remained steady and more and more species became obvious. The first Common Yellowthroat of the year narrowly escaped capture and the wretched buzz/raspberry call of the Blue-Winged Warbler emanated from the shrubbery. In all 50 species were encountered on the day.

There are still quite a number of Pine Siskin around, and, despite the number we’ve banded over the past few days, no banded ones were observed.

Banded: 50
American Goldfinch 13
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-Winged Warbler 1
Western Palm Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 9
Pine Siskin 5
House Wren 1
Field Sparrow 1
Yellow-Rumped Warbler 2
Swamp Sparrow 1
Yellow-Breasted Chat 1
White-Throated Sparrow 5
Wood Thrush 1
Grey Catbird 1
Red-Winged Blackbird 3
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Blue Jay 1

Retrapped: 23
American Goldfinch 3
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet 1
Black-Capped Chickadee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Slate-Coloured Junco 1
House Wren 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-Throated Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 3
White-Breasted Nuthatch 1
American Robin 1

Brian