Now, if the title got you thinking hangover after the wedding reception last night, you would be absolutely……wrong. When I left the reception I noticed that there were stars in the sky, the temperature had dropped, and the northerly wind was still blowing, factors that are conducive to birds migrating. I think a lot of birds were in the air last night, winging their way south. So when the clouds and precipitation hit them in the middle of the night they headed for the ground and shelter. The result was a big influx at Ruthven of short-distance migrants: kinglets, creepers, Myrtle Warblers, and sparrows. Due to the early rain I held off opening the nets for an hour. I was then able to catch and band (fairly steadily) for the next 5 hours until the resumption of rain forced the closure of the nets again.

Socially, it was a quiet morning – unusually quiet these days. However, I did have the pleasure of the company and help of Gabrielle Leiher. This is an interesting story: her grandparents, who live in Kitchener, drive all the way to Aurora to pick her up in time to deliver her to Ruthven by around 8:30. As I was pretty busy today, “Gabby” quickly learned how to scribe and did a great job keeping me on track. When things slowed down, she enthusiastically banded. She’s also quite an artist and, when leaving, gave me a small framed painting of a Red-eyed Vireo she had done for the lab (and she also gave me a container of terrific squares!!).

Banded 84:
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Downy Woodpecker
7 Brown Creepers
32 Golden-crowned Kinglets
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Eastern Bluebird
2 American Robins
1 Tennessee Warbler
4 Nashville Warblers
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
8 Myrtle Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Chipping Sparrow
2 Song Sparrows
14 White-throated Sparrows
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow

Retrapped 10:
1 Mourning Dove
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Brown Creeper
1 American Robin
3 Gray Catbirds
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 American Goldfinch

ET’s: 40 spp.

Birds banded per 100 net hours: 75

Rick