The weather was hot, hazy, and humid from dawn onwards today, causing most birds to remain relatively quiet and immobile. Even the mosquitoes were lethargic. There was a brief flurry of cuckoos – no, I’m not referring to the arrival of the day’s volunteers whom were very pleasant company indeed, although given the weather maybe….. – but the caterpillar eating kind as both Yellow-Billed and Black-Billed Cuckoo were banded today, with the latter being the first of the season.

Banded: 12
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 3
Mourning Warbler 1
Brown-Headed Cowbird 1
Grey Catbird 4
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo 1
Black-Billed Cuckoo 1

Retrapped: 8
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Blue-Winged Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Grey Catbird 1
Brown-Headed Cowbird 1
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo 1

Today marks the end of banding at Ruthven Park for the spring season – a season, due to the record number of birds banded, that will forever live in Ruthven banding lore as Spring Migration Monitoring 2007. What? You were expecting something catchy like “Orchard Oriole Onslaught ‘Aught Seven” or “Spring 2007: Good God a Gazillion Goldfinch”? Perhaps when we get media hype.

As the numbers stand now (and they will likely change when they are entered into the computer to account for addition errors etc) approximately 1,995 birds have been banded so far this year at Ruthven, with 1,887 being done during the spring monitoring season. The later total is higher than in any of the previous spring seasons.

When Rick gets back from the Arctic (rumour has it he is checking his off-shore investments but he may be off to a resort as he has waxed lyrically over the fine dining and luxurious accommodations – he even gets a faraway wistful look when he discusses frolicking with buxom Swedish grad students) a more detailed summary of numbers and species will be made available on the blog.

Thanks go out to all our volunteers and visitors. Your assistance and interest make banding at Ruthven Park a highly enjoyable experience.

B