October 14th – 16th: Whew!!

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Dianne's Picasso-esque picture of a Kestrel (part of Saturday's raptor show). -D. Green
Dianne’s Picasso-esque picture of a Kestrel (part of Saturday’s raptor show). -D. Green

It just feels like I haven’t had a chance to sit down for the past 3 days. Nancy covered Ruthven on Firday while I was at the Fern Hill Oakville campus; Saturday was the bird festival with lots of visitors in the morning for banding and birding and then a bunch more in the evening to hear my talk on banding in Kazakhstan and then try for owls; and then another full morning of banding at Ruthven. Whew!

The 14th started off the night before with Nancy and crew catching 10 more owls – 8 were banded and 2 were recaptures, one banded last October in Leamington, ON! (We haven’t heard about the other one yet.) Banding at Ruthven on the Friday was very slow (especially given the time of year) and not much better at Fern Hill.

Alessandra putting up a net in the mist. -L. Oldfield
Alessandra putting up a net in the mist. -L. Oldfield

Thank goodness we caught a respectable number of birds for the Bird Festival – it’s always a bummer doing banding demonstrations without any birds. But the owling at night was unsuccessful – very mild temperatures and stiff southerly winds being the main culprits.

Some rain went through during the night but the temperatres stayed high and the wind stiff so banding wasn’t great….just enough to whet an appetite. There was a noticeable drop in the variety of species around the site (from 49 yesterday down to 36 today – but one was an early morning Merlin!)

Ruthven, October 14th; Banded 28:
1 Mourning Dove
8 Northern Saw-whet Owls (from the night before)
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Brown Creeper
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 Cedar Waxwing
3 Yellow-rumped Warblers
3 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 39 spp.

Fern Hill Oakville, October 14h; Banded 14:

The Fernhillian YO's back to school after a fun-filled 2 days at Ruthven. -K. Paveley
The Fernhillian YO’s back to school after a fun-filled 2 days at Ruthven. -K. Paveley

1 Blue Jay
5 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
Male Golden-crowned Kinglet. -K. Paveley
Male Golden-crowned Kinglet. -K. Paveley

1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
6 House Sparrows
Oakville students. Behind you can see the area that they are working on restoring to a bird-friendly habitat. -K. Paveley
Oakville students. Behind you can see the area that they are working on restoring to a bird-friendly habitat. -K. Paveley

ET’s: 30 spp)

Bird Festival Day, October 15th; Banded 57:

Laura finds that titmice are not only twice the size as their cousins, chickadees, but twice the fun. -D. Green
Laura finds that titmice are not only twice the size as their cousins, chickadees, but twice the fun. -D. Green

Laura with the titmouse she extracted, banded.....and then released. -D. Green
Laura with the titmouse she extracted, banded…..and then released. -D. Green

2 Mourning Doves
1 Tufted Titmouse
2 Black-capped Chickadees
5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Hermit Thrush
We finally caught a few Cedar Waxwings; this is a young one. -L. Oldfield
We finally caught a few Cedar Waxwings; this is a young one. -L. Oldfield

4 Cedar Waxwings
13 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
10 White-throated Sparrows
8 Dark-eyed Juncos
7 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 49 spp.

October 16th; Banded 33:

Handsome male White-breasted Nuthatch. -K. Liu
Handsome male White-breasted Nuthatch. -K. Liu

1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 American Robin
1 Blue-headed Vireo
10 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Song Sparrow
5 White-throated Sparrows
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Purple Finches
7 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 36 spp.
Photo Gallery:

First time releasing a bird. -D. Green
First time releasing a bird. -D. Green

Another first time release. -D. Green
Another first time release. -D. Green

Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet. -K. Liu
Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet. -K. Liu

Close encounter.....with a Hermit Thrush. -K. Liu
Close encounter…..with a Hermit Thrush. -K. Liu

Ruby-crowned Kinglet. -K. Liu
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. -K. Liu

Yellow-rumped Warbler. -L. Oldfield
Yellow-rumped Warbler. -L. Oldfield

Rufous tail = Hermit Thrush. -L. Oldfield
Rufous tail = Hermit Thrush. -L. Oldfield

A "tan morph" White-throated Sparrow. -L. Oldfield
A “tan morph” White-throated Sparrow. -L. Oldfield

The white edging or "scalloping" on this Mourning Dove's feathers indicate that it is a young or "hatch year" bird. - L. Oldfield
The white edging or “scalloping” on this Mourning Dove’s feathers indicate that it is a young or “hatch year” bird. – L. Oldfield

Blast off!!! (for Anna and a Mourning Dove). -L. Oldfield
Blast off!!! (for Anna and a Mourning Dove). -L. Oldfield

This was sort of icing on the cake - brownies made especially for me by Anna. (Unfortunately she made me share....) -L. Oldfield
This was sort of icing on the cake – brownies made especially for me by Anna. (Unfortunately she made me share….) -L. Oldfield

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Song Sparrow. -E. Gosnell
Song Sparrow. -E. Gosnell

Male Purple Finch. -E. Gosnell
Male Purple Finch. -E. Gosnell

Bluebirds have been around in good number (25 on the 14th; 20 on the 15th; 7 today), eating grapes and checking out the nesting boxes. -D. Ward
Bluebirds have been around in good number (25 on the 14th; 20 on the 15th; 7 today), eating grapes and checking out the nesting boxes. -D. Ward

Young White-crowned Sparrow. -D. Ward
Young White-crowned Sparrow. -D. Ward

Ruby-crowned Kinglet checking out the Goldenrod. -D. Ward.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet checking out the Goldenrod. -D. Ward.

Lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers still moving through. -D. Ward
Lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers still moving through. -D. Ward

Late male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. -D. Ward
Late male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. -D. Ward

Common Yellowthroat. -D. Ward
Common Yellowthroat. -D. Ward

Rick

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