At Ruthven, you can take that equation to the bank (as long as “lousy” doesn’t include steady rain). It was overcast and a chilly north wind blew all morning. But in the river flats there were lots of sparrows “chipping” and along all the scrubby edges there were kinglets.

This was a day when it becomes crystal clear that 2 skilled people are needed to do the job correctly. For most of the morning, Loretta just did net rounds, extracting birds from the nets to bring back to me to band at the lab. She was also able to squeeze in a census – which is necessary to give us a full picture of the bird movement and presence in the area.

We had a busy time of it, handling 149 birds.

Banded 118:
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Brown Creepers
21 Golden-crowned Kinglets
26 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Gray-cheeked Thrushes
3 Hermit Thrushes
1 American Robin
1 Tennessee Warbler
8 Myrtle Warblers
1 Western Palm Warbler
2 Blackpoll Warblers
7 Chipping Sparrows
4 Song Sparrows
19 White-throated Sparrows
2 Eastern White-crowned Sparrows
15 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 31:
3 Mourning Doves
2 Black-capped Chickadees
5 White-breasted Nuthatches
1 Golden-crowned Kinglets
! Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Philadelphia Vireo
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
3 Swamp Sparrows
4 White-throated Sparrows
2 Eastern White-crowned Sparrows
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 American Goldfinch

ET’s: 49 spp.

Rick