May 26th – Quietening Down

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First we heard this Mourning Warbler around net 10 and then caught it about an hour later…in the same net. A lovely male. -MMG

Don’t get me wrong: the dawn chorus is still pretty impressive. What a pleasure it is to stroll around the net paths opening nets before the sun gets up and listen to the birds. But once the sun cracks the horizon the chorus drops off quickly….though not completely. Visitors ask: where have all the Baltimore Orioles (or grosbeaks or song sparrows or….) gone. Well, they haven’t gone anywhere; they’re still here; but once territories have been sorted out and nesting begins they get a lot quieter.
Birds don’t fool around; they get right down to it. What intrigues me is that while some long-distance migrants are busy making nests (some are even laying eggs), others are still on the move and have a long way to go to get to their typical home range.
Dorothy, with daughters Dianne and Joanne, on their annual Spring Birding Pilgrimage. They’ve topped 200 species for southern Ontario this season alone. -DOL

Banded 35:
4 Traill’s Flycatchers
5 Eastern Bluebirds
1 American Robin
6 Cedar Waxwings
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Blue-winged Warbler
6 Yellow Warblers
1 Magnolia Warbler

A nice surprise: male Black-throated Green Warbler. We don’t expect to see these this late in the migration. -KMP

1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Mourning Warbler
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 Indigo Bunting
2 Song Sparrows
2 Baltimore Orioles
2 American Goldfinches

Upon seeing news that a Red-tailed Hawk had been hit on highway 6, Marnie and Karen leapt into action. They drove to the approximate spot, found the bird and then took it to Hobbitsee, the local rehabilitator. It appears to be recovering. -MMG

ET’s: 58 spp.
Rick

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