May 24th & 25th – Winding Down – Haldimand Bird Observatory

Great Crested Flycatcher – a denizen of the treetops. -R. Barnes

Today, the 25th, was a washout: steady rain throughout the day. The only excitement was the report of a bear cub in the vicinity of the Gatehouse!?! I sure don’t know about that one…..not that it couldn’t happen but it’s VERY unlikely. Anyway, if you happen to see a bear while you’re out on the trails, please let us know!

Michele Karam from the MNR and some of her colleagues and students were out last night to try to catch and band bats. They were unsuccessful but…..they did catch an Eastern Screech Owl. Ironically, this was just after I had gone home….my usual luck with owls. This was our first encounter with a screech owl at the site this year.

Ruthven May 24th:
It was a typical late May day – started off slow and stayed that way. With lots of help, things went very well. We banded some typical late birds such as a Lincoln’s Sparrow, Blackpoll Warbler and a Traill’s Flycatcher.

Interestingly, both cuckoo species were near the banding lab for a chance to compare their distinctive songs.

Banded 26:
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Traill’s Flycatcher 1
Blue Jay 1
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 2
Red-eyed Vireo 3

Why the Red-eyed Vireo is called that….. -CHS

Yellow Warbler 3
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3

(Banded) male Common Yellowthroat….and these really are common around Ruthven now. -D. Ward

Indigo Bunting 1
Lincoln’s Sparrow 1
Orchard Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 5

Recaptured 20:
House Wren 1
Gray Catbird 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Yellow Warbler 7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Song Sparrow 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
Orchard Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 1

ETs: 63 species
Mike

Ruthven Photo Gallery (from the last couple of days):

Sharon from Niagara-on-the-Lake donated this innovative oriole feeder: a martini glass filled with grape jelly. A good excuse to drink martinis……in case you needed an excuse. -CHS

The cowbird in the foreground had a terrible head wound inflicted by other male cowbirds. We treated it with a topical spray and he seems to have recovered well. -CHS

All the way from South America – Blackpoll Warbler. -CHS

Note all the brown wing feathers; this Blackpoll male is just in its second year. -CHS

The mottled blue tells you this male Indigo Bunting is in its 2nd year. -CHS

Life in the pond. Can anyone tell me what these are? -CHS

Cedar Waxwing in the blossoms. -R. Fotheringham

Fern Hill Oakville – May 24th
No sign of migrants on the move today (except for maybe 20 Blue Jays that seemed to be heading NE). The long-distance migrants that we encountered on and around the site appeared to be “Summer residents”.

Banded 12: