November 9th, End of the Season
You might say this Fall season went out with a whimper – a cold and windy day with few birds either in the bushes or in the nets. Time to call it a day that’s for sure. The whole banding crew gathered to take down the nets and rehash the season. On the whole we banded a total of 2,436 birds this season comprised of 88 species or forms. This is about 1,100 birds less than we did last year and ~1.300 less than our record year in 2005 (but, interestingly, 350 more than in 2006). The telling number though was our rate of capture. This is presented as number of birds banded per 100 net hours (1 net hour= one 12 metre net open for one hour). Our rate this season was only 41.1 birds per 100 net hours – this is the lowest rate we’ve had since Fall banding began in 1995. Our sister station at Rock Point Provincial Park and a station just outside of Rochester, Braddock’s Bay, also reported a relatively poor season. Perhaps it wasn’t a particularly successful breeding season up north. [It’s always so hard to explain the differences in each year’s results….]
Ruthven is a good place to look for birds – you just never know what you might see. This Fall season 140 different species were observed on or over or from the grounds.
Top Ten for the Fall Season:
1/ American Goldfinch – 436
2/ Yellow-rumped Warbler – 216
3/ White-throated Sparrow – 155
4/ Dark-eyed Junco – 145
5/ Cedar Waxwing – 135
6/ Song Sparrow – 127
7/ Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 79
8/ Gray Catbird – 79
9/ Blackpoll Warbler – 68
10/ Red-eyed Vireo – 67
Banded 9:
2 Mourning Doves
1 Black-capped Chickadee
3 American Tree Sparrows
1 Song Sparrow
2 American Goldfinches
Retrapped 11:
1 Downy Woodpecker
3 Black-capped Chickadees
2 American Tree Sparrows
4 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 American Goldfinch
ET’s:Â 35 species
Rick
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November 8th, Winding Down
Relatively strong westerly winds hampered netting operations this morning – not that it made much difference as there were few birds around. Diurnal movement of most species was greatly curtailed. But then again it is well into November……which makes it hard to explain the capture of a very late Gray Catbird! This bird should be sorting out a feeding area in Cuba or Mexico or some other warm place.
Banded 12:
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Gray Catbird
1 Fox Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 American Goldfinches
Retrapped 19:
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Brown Creepers
1 American Tree Sparrow
1 Fox Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
8 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 American Goldfinches
ET’s:Â 30 species
Rick