If April showers bring May flowers, then September squalls bring…..Blackpolls!?

The rain of September 9th brought a fallout of migrants, dominated by Blackpoll Warblers, to Ruthven.There was much activity throughout the dayand the nets were kept quite busy. In fact, there was such a clamour to get banded that one enterprising young Common Yellowthroat eschewed the nets all together and flew right in to the banding station by itself…where it promptly changed its mind and flew out again. In reality I think it was attracted by the calls of another Common Yellowthroat in one of the bags hanging up, for the bird flew in through the door, alighted on the bag and then flew out again. Possibly a family member? Anyways, I quickly banded and released the bagged bird (HY-U).

Many of the migrants were in “worn” shape with little to no fat and muscle counts of predominately 2.

Banded: 121
American Goldfinch 32
Nashville Warbler 2
Magnolia Warbler 10
Black-Throated Green Warbler 2
Chestnut-Sided Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 2
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 31
Eastern Wood Pewee 1
Bay-Breasted Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Black-Capped Chickadee 2
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher 2
Black-Throated Blue Warbler 4
Mourning Warbler 1
Traill’s Flycatcher 1
Black-and-White Warbler 1
Lincoln’s Sparrow 1
Red-Eyed Vireo 3
House Finch 1
Connecticut Warbler 1
Purple Finch 1
White-Breasted Nuthatch 1
Song Sparrow 4
Grey-Cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson’s Thrush 1
Scarlet Tanager 1
Grey Catbird 4
Blue Jay 1

Retrapped: 5
Black-Capped Chickadee 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Grey Catbird 2

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