October 2nd – After The Deluge – Haldimand Bird Observatory

Two very wet days in a row – not much of a start to October….after our lowest September banding total in about 15 years. It’s a good thing I’m not prone to depression! Still, the rain eased up (in both Cayuga and Oakville) for awhile and we were able to open some nets for a couple of hours before it restarted.

Sir Sanford Fleming student Xavier Tuson with his first banded bird: Eastern Phoebe. -NRF

Here’s Nancy’s report from Ruthven:
A dark, wet start to the morning but the wind was light and it wasn’t too cold. With the heavy showers tapering off by early morning we quickly finished a census before the rain settled in … again. But, just a short shower allowing a few nets to be opened and monitored during the intermittent showers through the rest of the morning. There were hot spots of bird activity along the census route and around the banding lab. Even with the nets opened for a couple hours, we still banded a nice mix of birds including waxwings, warblers, and vireo’s. Dodging showers and making frequent net checks we decided to close when the rain settled in by mid day. On the last net check, we banded the first Slate-colored Junco of the season.

Banded 16
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Swainson’s Thrush

3 Cedar Waxwing

2 Blue-headed Vireo
5 Tennessee Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Northern Parula Warbler
1 Blackpoll Warbler

First junco banded for the Fall season. -NRF

1 Slate-coloured Junco

ET’s: 39 species
Nancy

At Fern Hill in Oakville we had steady rain yesterday. I set out a couple of potter traps and caught 4 Mourning Doves and a Blue Jay…..and a cold. This morning Katherine and I hustled around and opened nets as soon as the rain petered out and we tapped into some of the migrants along the edges….until the rain returned.