The 2nd Burlington Scouts came to visit under forboding skies. Looking somewhat worse for wear due to their being subjected to the unwanted intrusion of loud local nightlife the evening before, the scouts viewed the operations of the Ruthven Park banding station and fed many mosquitos. They left with a deeper knowledge of the mysteries of bird migration, and with many ticks attached to them.

Migrants are still moving through the park, today in moderate number and diversity.

Banded: 24
Magnolia Warbler 2
Wilson’s Warbler 1
American Goldfinch 1
House Wren 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Canada Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Blackpoll Warbler 3
Willow Flycatcher 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Veery 2
Swainson’s Thrush 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
Grey-Cheeked Thrush 1
Grey Catbird 2
Red-Winged Blackbird 2

Retrapped: 8
Yellow Warbler 4
Black-Capped Chickadee 1
Cedar Waxwing 1
Blue Jay 1
House Wren 1

B

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An interesting email we received recently:

Subject: cmmnlist: Foreign RBGR
Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 14:23:41 EDT

Hi All,
just thought that you all might like to know that PEPtBO caught an ASY-Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak recently. Not unusual for here you might think, until we noticed that the band it carried was different from the normal USFWS bands, the number on it was C 00335 and the address was a web address AVE@PROAVES.ORG. Our original thought was that it was an escape bird, but a quick check on the internet soon told us that it was a genuine Columbian band. We can’t wait to get the banding details back on it. The numbers were very easy to read but the web address is in VERY, VERY small print, we needed a magnifying glass to read it after we had scraped all the dirt off of it. The Canadian Atlas of Bird Banding (Vol 1 by David Brewer) only lists one other Columbian RBGR, a bird banded at Long Point BO in 1966 and found in Columbia in 1970. So it appears they have their banding scheme up and running, so keep an eye open for more Columbian banded birds.

David Okines
PEPtBO Station Manager