We don’t have long to go now; we’re on the last leg. Long-distance migrants are long gone; the bulk of short-distance migrants have pretty well all moved through; Winter residents have been moving in and soon will be done as well (except for the few stragglers that can make late Fall/early Winter birding so interesting). We’ve been trying to catalogue it all, sometimes buring the candle at both ends – we tried for owls at Fern Hill Oakville on Monday night but with no success.
We’ve been through a good run of warblers; are just finishing off the sparrows; and currently catching goldfinches and juncos. Like any year there have been some noteable ups and downs; e.g., Myrtle Warbler #’s are well below the long-term average (95 vs 307) as are Blackpoll Warblers (28 vs 62) but Red-eyed Vireos hit record levels (157 vs 57). White-throated Sparrow #’s are well above average (317 vs 221) whereas White-crowned Sparrows are quite low (4 vs 16) and we have yet to catch a Fox Sparrow. Cedar Waxwings, which have become one of our “bread and butter” Fall species, are lagging (158 vs 230) despite a good berry/grape crop. And so it goes….. But what has happened to Northern Saw-whet Owls!? So far we’ve banded only 6 (as opposed to the 81 we did last Fall). We’re looking into it – most stations have reported lower numbers of this irruptive species.
October 28th; Banded 66:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
5 Hermit thrushes
2 Cedar Waxwings
4 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
8 White-throated Sparrows
4 Dark-eyed Juncos
39 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 33 spp.
October 29th; Banded 76:
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Brown Creeper
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Hermit Thrushes
1 American Robin
9 Song Sparrows
5 White-throated Sparrows
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
9 Dark-eyed Juncos
43 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 36 spp.
October 30th; Banded 27:
1 Brown Creeper
6 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 American Robin
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 Song Sparrow
7 Dark-eyed Juncos
10 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 33 spp.
October 28th; Fern Hill Oakville:
We had a full day – banding passerines during the day and trying for owls in the evening. It’s amazing to me that we’re catching sooo many goldfinches at Ruthven but I saw only 3 at the school!? And the 2 White-throated Sparrows were the first I’ve seen at Fern Hill this Fall while at Ruthven we’ve banded well over 300. But we do have one thing in common: NO Northern Saw-whet Owls. We made 3 rounds…..3 futile rounds with nothing to show for them.
Banded 13:
1 Blue Jay
1 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
2 Northern Cardinals
1 American Tree Sparrow
2 White-throated Sparrows
3 House Finches
1 House Sparrow
ET’s: 23 spp.
Rick