September 15 – Ruthven Banding Station Is the Place to Visit
Even though we haven’t been too busy catching and handling birds this weekend, it has been a busy time with visitors. Both yesterday and today, we’ve had close to the same number of birds banded as visitors to the banding lab. A mix of families, people young and old coming to the park to enjoy the program and see the birds up close. They’ve either read about us on the Ruthven website – the Ruthven Park Nature Blog, or they’ve been talking with family and friends. Some of the people have been sharing with me that Ruthven is the place to visit to learn more about the birds, see them up close, and walk the trails to help with net checks. All of this would not be possible without the support of the Ruthven National Historic Site and their staff, and the numerous volunteers that give many hours to this program The banding station program is operated through donations and grants.
17 Banded
1 Eastern Wood-Peewee
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Gray-checked Thrush
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 Wood Thrush
1 Gray Catbird
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
2 Magnolia Warbler
2 Blackpoll Warbler
1 American Redstart
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1 Chipping Sparrow
7 Retrap
1 House Wren
2 Gray Catbird
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
ET’s: 49
Nancy
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
After hatch-year Male American Redstart
Hatch-year Male Rose Breasted Grosbeak – males have a pink underwing, and females yellow
Hatch-year Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak – The white patch on the primaries at the base of the primary coverts is larger on males than females, even for hatch-year birds.
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September 14 – A Slower Day
It was a calm morning, and while I was opening the nets I was distracted by the call of two Great Horned Owls. The owls, a male and a female, were calling to the south and I wanted to study their call to learn how to identify the male from the female by their unique pattern of hoots. So, by the time I finished opening nets, the sky was getting bright to the east. It was an unusual morning where the total number of birds handled was very low compared to the numbers through the week. I anticipated a higher number with the cooler temperatures, and calm conditions. We handled only 24 birds and there were no new birds for the season. The flocks of Cedar Waxwings that we saw were estimated to be well over ~300 birds.
15 Banded
1 Mourning Dove
1 Downey Woodpecker
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 House Wren
1 Gray-checked Thrush
4 Swainson’s Thrush
1 Cedar Waxwing
2 Nashville Warbler
2 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Song Sparrow
9 Retrap
1 Tufted Titmouse
2 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
3 Blackpoll Warbler
ET’s: 37
Nancy