This last week has seen a move to cold nights and generally windy days with periods of precipitation. Three mornings in a row the nets were covered with frost and the poles had a veneer of ice making opening a slow process. The birds didn’t get moving until the sun was well above the horizon and throwing a little heat. On such days, baked goods provide energy and lift spirits:
Catch numbers have been dwindling as have species numbers – as they should for this time of year. Winter is on the way. Interestingly, I got a text this morning from Marnie over on 9th Line saying that she was “pretty sure” that she had heard a Snow Bunting! The message contained a picture of a few Snow Buntings taken by someone near Guelph. Marnie would know. At her place, she gets wintering flocks of 500-1000 Buntings.
But…we have a little way to go. There are still butterflies around like this beautiful Eastern Comma that we saw a couple of days ago:
October 25th; Banded 36:
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 American Goldfinch
4 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 White-throated Sparrows
16 Song Sparrows
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
10 Swamp Sparrows
[64 Retraps – almost all of which were carrying good fat loads.]
The night of the 25th must have paid witness to a massive leaving of “our” birds, lifting off and heading south. I’m sure they could sense the change in the weather that was coming. So we went from handling 100 birds (36 banded; 64 retraps) to a mere 29.
October 26th; Banded 13:
2 Eastern Phoebes
3 American Tree Sparrowsleaving
1 Dark-eyed Junco
5 Song Sparrows
2 Northern Cardinals
[16 Retraps]
October 27th; Banded 8:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 White-throated Sparrow
4 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
[8 Retraps]
October 28th; Banded 14:
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 American Goldfinch
3 Purple Finches
1 American Tree Sparrows
1 White-throated Sparrow
4 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
[15 Retraps]
October 31st; Banded 21:
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Hermit thrush
1 Purple Finch
1 Field Sparrow
2 American Tree Sparrows
3 White-throated Sparrows
7 Song Sparrows
4 Swamp Sparrows
1 Northern Cardinal
[9 Retraps]
Just some of the characters that made these days fun and productive:
Rick