Hard to believe but we’re almost halfway through our migration monitoring at Ruthven. Yesterday, September 30th, Nancy banded 51 birds (see list below) bringing our September total of to 1,140 birds. This is our 4th best total. Our average of 37.2 birds per day for the 3rd 10-day period was just a little below the average of 32.6. So….we had a good September but well below the 1,980 we banded in 2012! Interestingly 38.5 of the birds banded in September were warblers. This is well above the average of 32.6.

During this time we had warm temperatures but they seemed to be slowly declining as the month progressed – as they should. And then we got today: 29 with a humidex reading in the mid-30’s! What!? I was dragging by 9 o’clock and, while the first 2 rounds were ok, the birds dried up not long after the sun cleared the horizon. But the short-distance migrants don’t seem to be lingering; they’re following their internal clock and “know” they have to get going. So warblers (which have been pushing through all month) are giving way to kinglets and sparrows.

September 30th; Banded 51:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Blue Jay
1 House Wren
1 Winter Wren
3 Golden-crowned Kinglets
5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
2 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Gray Catbird
4 Red-eyed Vireos
2 Nashville Warblers
3 Northern Parulas
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Swamp Sparrow
16 White-throated Sparrows
3 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 36 spp. [No census]

October 1st; Banded 30:
1 Eastern Wood-pewee
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Winter Wrens
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Swainson’s Thrushes
2 Gray Catbirds
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Blackpoll Warbler
3 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
11 White-throated Sparrows

ET’s: 46 spp.