I got a couple of hours of banding in this morning before and between showers. I only opened a couple of nets, as the forecast was a bit dubious and closed them early when rain came.
I banded another early Myrtle Warbler. This bird appeared to be in great shape, with good fat scores.
I had a retrapped a male Hairy Woodpecker that we banded as a young bird last summer. This bird had a brood patch. (Male woodpeckers develop brood patches, as they help to incubate the eggs.)
I had a retrapped White Breasted Nuthatch (female) that we first banded in 2002 as a hatch year bird. She is now 5 years old. It is nice to see some of our resident birds here for another season!
8 Banded today:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Brown Creeper
2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 Myrtle Warbler
2 Dark eyed Juncos
1 American Goldfinch
9 Retrapped:
1 Hairy Woodpecker
3 Downey Woodpeckers
1 White Breasted Nuthatch
4 Dark eyed Juncos
Loretta
Thanks for the interesting retrap information.
It is interesting that you got another early Myrtle. I’ve read their peak migration through Southern Ontario is from late April to Mid-may, but that info was from 1986. It would be interesting to know if their migration is occurring earlier now, or if the birds we’re seeing are just a few oddballs.
I saw a Myrtle Warbler in my yard Tuesday evening.
When I get the time (maybe someone out there would like to fund my early retirment…?), I would like to go through the seasonal log books and break out the arrival dates and peak migration dates for each species. This is the 12th Spring and it will be the 13th Fall – getting to a point where such an exercise might be informative.