Things actually started to heat up Saturday night. There was unsettled weather during the day (Saturday) and the temperature was dropping before a NW wind. On a hunch I opened a couple of nets and put out a lure tape thinking about perhaps getting a Saw-whet Owl. No luck on the first round at 9:30 but….then I got the first one of the season on the 10:30 round!! And then 3 more on the 11:30 circuit and another single bird at 12:30 for a total of 5 for the night! This (in my mind at least) augured well for the morning of the 9th. And I wasn’t disappointed….
A big pulse of migrants had been on the move during the night and were pouring through Ruthven all day on the 9th. We had a light NW wind and overcast skies for most of the morning and into the afternoon which made for good catching conditions. We banded 87 birds (including the 5 owls) during our “standard” banding hours; another 29 during the “non-standard” afternoon hours; and the Baggers got another 24 in their nets for a total of 116 birds.
October 9th; Banded 116:
5 Northern Saw-whet Owls
1 Hairy Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpeckers
6 Black-capped Chickadees
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
9 Golden-crowned Kinglets
6 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
7 Hermit Thrushes
4 American Robins
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Nashville Warbler
42 Yellow-rumped Warblers
4 Western Palm Warblers
1 Northern Cardinal
5 Song Sparrows
3 Swamp Sparrows
18 White-throated Sparrows
5 White-crowned Sparrows
13 Dark-eyed Juncos
5 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 43 spp.
Today’s banding started off last night as well. Based on last night’s owling success we decided to open more nets and have a couple of sound systems on the go. This worked well as we finished the night with 12 (yes, count ’em….12!!) Saw-whet Owls. It was quite a night.
Although the wind (if you could call it that) had a weak northerly component and the temperature plummeted to -1 C (I had frost on my car this morning), the skies were clear and it was sunny all day. This was great for the hordes of people attending the antique car get-together but not so great for banding. Including last night’s owls, we banded 57 and the Baggers got another 11 for a total of 68. There was a significant drop-off in Yellow-rumped Warbler numbers (from 42 down to 3). And I’d like to know where all the Cedar Waxwings and American Goldfinches are…..
October 10th; Banded 68:
12 Northern Saw-whet Owls
1 Eastern Phoebe
9 Golden-crowned Kinglets
8 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
4 Hermit Thrushes
1 American Robin
1 Gray Catbird
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
3 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Song Sparrow
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
17 White-throated Sparrows
1 White-crowned Sparrow
5 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 American Goldfinch
ET’s: 40 spp.
Photo Gallery:
Rick
PS: Nancy will open the owl banding up to the public on Tuesday and Thursday night this week.