May 2nd – The Migration Grinds On

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After processing the first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year sat contentedly in the "exit hatch" getting out of the raw wind.
After processing the bird sat contentedly in the “exit hatch” getting out of the raw wind.
It was another inclement day. It rained most of the night and into the morning. And the temperature started off around 6 degrees. Although the wind was relatively light, it was out of the NE, off cold Lake Ontario, making it feel colder than it was – raw would be the best way to describe it. While these conditions backed some birds up (we has more retraps than new banded birds: 40 retraps vs 37 new ones), others were on the move. We got our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year and new Chipping Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows. We even got a late junco. So things are moving – just not with gusto. And the bulk of long-distance migrants have yet to show.
Our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year! All the way from Central or South America. -J. Furber
Our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year! All the way from Central or South America. -J. Furber

The stunning lemon underwing colouring of the female. This bird was a foreign recapture - it was banded elsewhere by someone else. We are tying to chase down its origin. -J. Furber.
The stunning lemon underwing colouring of the female. This bird was a foreign recapture – it was banded elsewhere by someone else. We are tying to chase down its origin. -J. Furber.

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak was a female (usually the males arrive first by a couple of days) and was banded – but not by us. We are trying now to find out who did it.
This Downy Woodpecker was banded as a SY (Second Year) bird on April 9 2007 - making it 10 years old!
This Downy Woodpecker was banded as a SY (Second Year) bird on April 9 2007 – making it 10 years old!

One interesting recapture was a male Downy Woodpecker. It had originally been banded on April 9th, 2007 as a SY year bird – in its second year. So it had hatched the year before, 2006 making it almost 10 years old! The “bible” for telling the age of North American birds was written by Peter Pyle (referred to simply as “Pyle”). What we found with this bird is that his methodology breaks down on older birds. Using “Pyle” would have turned up an age of TY or third year, based on its having two generations of primary covert feathers. We’ll have to rethink using it for older birds.
The 10-year old woodpecker is showing two generations of Primary covert feathers -suggesting it is a Third Year bird. Pyles's aging technique for Downy Woodpeckers breaks down in older birds and isn't accurate.
The 10-year old woodpecker is showing two generations of Primary covert feathers -suggesting it is a Third Year bird. Pyles’s aging technique for Downy Woodpeckers breaks down in older birds and isn’t accurate.

Banded 37:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 American Robin
4 Chipping Sparrows
11 White-throated Sparrows
1 Dark-eyed Junco
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
13 American Goldfinches
2 House Sparrows
Female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The lack of a black "eyebrow" makes it a female.
Female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The lack of a black “eyebrow” makes it a female.

ET’s: 49 spp.
Rick

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