Golden-winged Warbler. -B. Fotheringham
I put this pictures of a Golden-winged Warbler up here to get your heart beating. Bob and Irene Fortheringham just came back from Pt. Pelee and I wanted to see what something “out of the ordinary” looked like…something that was more than an American Goldfinch or Chipping Sparrow or (dare I say it) a Yellow Warbler.
Golden-winged Warbler -B. Fotheringham
Golden-wings are one of my very favourite birds – and are the reason I got into banding: I wanted to learn more about them. Back in the mid-80’s they were relatively common in the Ruthven area. In the forest back of York I had 5 breeding in fairly close proximity. But now the 2nd Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas notes that it is “one of the most rapidly declining passerine species in North America and is listed as Threatened in Canada. The reasons cited for the decline are loss of habitat both in the breeding and wintering area, Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism and hybridization with the Blue-winged Warbler. It is rare for us now to even see a Golden-winged Warbler and the chief hybrid of their cross-breeding, the Brewster’s Warbler, is also becoming rare in our area suggesting that the ousting of the Golden-winged is almost complete in this area.
Golden-winged Warbler. -B. Fotheringham
Just a brief look at these photos will help you to understand why I liked them so much – and I greatly regret their demise.
Purple Martin pair. -B. Fotheringham
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. -B. Fotheringham
The “influx” of long-distance migrants at Ruthven has been slow….frustratingly slow. A single Eastern Wood Pewee here, a single Scarlet Tanager there…that sort of thing. But the woods in our area are largely empty and very very quiet for this time of year.
First Wood Thrush of the year. -B; Fotheringjham
House Wren -B. Fotheringham
May 8th:
Banded 28:
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Tree Swallow
2 Blue Jays
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 House Wren
6 Yellow Warblers
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
10 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 56 spp.
Swallow-tailed Kite over Pt. Pelee. -B. Fotheringham
May 9th:
Banded 19:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 House Wren
2 Yellow Warblers
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
4 Eastern White-crowned Sparrows
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
6 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 51 spp.
Tree Swallow -B. Fotheringham
Chipmunks are regular (and pesky) visitors to our baited traps. -B; Fotheringham
Rick
all that free time can now be spent in better pursuits………like skypeing