May 16th & 17th – The Ringers Ring True!! | Haldimand Bird Observatory

The Ruthven Ringers: from the left, Matt Timpf, Ben Oldfield, Liz Vanderwoude, Sean Power, Giovanni Campanelli.

The 16th was the day that our team, the Ruthven Ringers, set out to try and crack the 150 species mark. Our team is hardcore under the leadership of Matt Timpf and very, very determined. But, after getting only 53 species on the early morning census at Ruthven, and with a fog settling in over the Grand River, I was not expecting them to crack this mark. Still, they left Ruthven with a couple of nice birds: Lincoln’s Sparrow, Carolina Wren, and a very late Dark-eyed Junco. Still, they had their work cut out for them.

I got Ben Oldfield to text me ongoing developments:
By 9:30 – 85 species (including Clay-coloured Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Hooded Warbler)
11:25 – they hit 109 (including Louisiana Waterthrush, Cerulean Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler)
11:49 – added a White-faced Ibis
12:13 – 113 species
1:20 – 130 species
3:34 – 143 species
6:11 – 147 (including Gadwall and American Wigeon)
7:53 – 150 (Ruby-crowned Kinglet)
And by the finish at 10:00 – 154 species WOW! Last 2 birds added were American Woodcock and Whip-poor-wills.

The Ruthven Ringers in action…no bird escapes unnoticed!

Here’s a note from Matt:
We ended up with 154 species. Despite the morning fog, it turned out to be a really excellent day. We had some fantastic species, so some top 10 highlights included: WHITE-FACED IBIS, 24 warbler species (PROTHONOTARY, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, CERULEAN WARBLER), WILSON’S PHALAROPE, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, AMERICAN PIPIT, and to end the night off 6+ EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL (including a pair of birds that were sitting on the road).

A fantastic day, with great company. 160 next year? Haha.

(I am going to write up an official report for the day and send it to everyone, but that will take me a day or two).

The team was hoping to raise $2,000 of which 70% will go to support the banding program at Ruthven with the other 30% going to Bird Studies Canada to fund research projects nation-wide. If you still want to contribute to the Ruthven Ringers you can support an individual team member by clicking here and selecting the name of a team member at the bottom of the page.

Learning to get a grip. -C. Scholtens

Delight in a Blue-winged Warbler. -C.Scholtens

Meanwhile, amidst all the birdathon excitement, it was just business as usual, with almost more visitors than birds (even when you add in the retraps!). The pace allowed us to expose new birders, especially children, to the whole experience….and this is rewarding (although not as rewarding as a net full of birds).

More delight….this time in a Gray Catbird

One project we have been contributing data to is a study of avian ticks by John Scott at the University of Guelph. He hypothesizes that long-distance migrants may contribute to the spread of tick-borne diseases by carrying them from their wintering grounds. So, we try to quickly examine neotropical migrants for ticks. Last week we found one on the skin around the eye of a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Here is John’s commentary on that tick:
Hi Rick,
I received the tick which collected from the Chestnut-side Warbler on 11 May 2015. It is an Amblyomma larva, but the species has me stumped. I am going to let this fully engorge larva molt to a nymph, and then try to identify it. It is likely from Central America, and they are tough to sort out. I may have to get DNA sequencing to be sure.
By the way, this is the first time I have received a tick from this bird species.
Great eye, Rick!
Many thanks, and I look forward to others,
John
John is the only guy I know who gets excited about ticks….in a positive way.

Least Sandpipers along the river. -C. Scholtens

The water level in the Grand River is quite low, especially for this time of year – it’s more like the middle/end of Summer. There is an interesting exposed gravel bar just off Slink Island that has been attracting shorebirds for the past week or so, including: Semipalmated Plover, Solitary Sandpiper, and Least Sandpiper. Common and Caspian Terns check out the water around it regularly. The regular presence of hunting Common Terns is very unusual to see at Ruthven.

A Killdeer parent looking out for intruders. -G. MacLellan

The Killdeer family has lost a member – one of the four chicks has inexplicably disappeared, likely taken by a predator. The parents are ever vigilant and if they sense that an intruder (me, for example) is heading in the direction of the chicks they will jump into action. One flies in front of me and does a broken-wing display to lead me off while the other hurries the chicks into hiding. They have expanded the range that they cover: they move between the parking lot and all the way down to the overlook of Slink Island, at the beginning of the Fox Den Trail. This is a hike of about 400 meters!

Parent with chicks in tow. -G. MacLellan

Trying to look injured. -G. MacLellan

Really trying to look injured. -G. MacLellan

May 16th ; Banded 35:
1 Traill’s Flycatcher
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Tufted Titmouse
6 Gray Catbirds
1 Warbling Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireos
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 Tennessee Warbler
3 Yellow Warblers
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
6 Magnolia Warblers
1 American Redstart
2 Ovenbirds
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Song Sparrow
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
3 American Goldfinches

Species Count: 73 spp.

May 17th; Banded29:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 American Robin
5 Gray Catbirds
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
4 Yellow Warblers
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
3 Magnolia Warblers
2 Common Yellowthroats
2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
2 Indigo Buntings
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
3 Baltimore Orioles

Species Count: 68 spp.

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