April 21st – Sensationalism

A foreboding sky….that produced no precipitation. -DOL


News has become marketable and very lucrative. If there’s a preposterous story line that captures peoples’ fancy to the point that they’ll watch the tube as it plays out then there’s money to be made. The more viewers, the more advertising to entice them; the more advertising, the more money to be made. In some ways it’s a shame that there’s no advertisement-free station that doesn’t depend on advertising. It seems to me that, although it’s taken them awhile, weather stations have gone the same route. You can get all-day weather with all kinds of dire warnings and “alerts”. And there’s a tendency to keep tuning in to see just how bad it will get and where. And, to be frank, it’s become a pain in the ass. Especially when you have to decide whether to travel to the banding station and suggest to enthusiastic volunteers that perhaps they might not want to make the trip because the forecast says……

This morning was a case in point. An “80% chance of rain” was predicted for the area starting at 6:00 and running through the morning. If I took it at face value I would have stayed in bed. But I’ve learned that an “80% chance of rain” can mean anything from a deluge to partial sunshine and NO rain. So my strategy is to walk outside in the dark right after I get up, put my hand out, and if it gets soaked I will call listed volunteers to let them know it might not be worthwhile or, if they’re coming from a distance, not to chance it.

Maggie with a male Eastern Bluebird. DOL


This morning I was delighted to be joined by Maggie whom I haven’t seen for some time. A delightful young woman with wonderful life plans and a skilled bander. I’m glad I didn’t go with the forecast!

Attesting to her skill, Maggie extracted this female Northern Cardinal without suffering its clamping bite on her fingers. MRM


Small bird movement was starting to show with Myrtle Warblers working their way through the trees (high enough to avoid the nets) and I heard the first Common Yellowthroat of the year. Tree Swallows have moved past just trying to survive and are involved in energetic chases to claim nest boxes and mates. Four (2 males and 2 females) were involved in a chase and piled into net #9.

One of the four Tree Swallows that piled into Net 9. MRM


We recaptured a male Eastern Bluebird. It looked to be in fine shape but when checking for fat we noticed a large (1.5 cm) lump on its lower right abdomen. Would love to know what was causing this…tumour? Otherwise the bird acted normally and didn’t seem impaired.

Large growth on the abdomen of the bluebird. DOL


Banded 14:
4 Tree Swallows
1 Dark-eyed Junco
3 Swamp Sparrows
2 Red-winged Blackbirds

Red-winged Blackbirds, because they’re so common perhaps, seem to be taken for granted. But they’re colouration is dazzling. MRM


4 Common Grackles
ET’s: 37 spp.
Rick

April 20th – A New Banding Tick!!

A first for HBO – a Belted Kingfisher!! -DOL


It was a beautiful day: blue skies, cool in the wind but warm in the sunshine. The sort of day that had us talking about the need for a rocking chair on the porch but, maybe even better, a hammock swinging in the trees.

Sarah with a very nice banding tick. -DOL


I was sitting at the picnic table content to watch others working when out of the corner of my eye I spotted Sarah galloping through the wetland toward the UG net (#6, University of Guelph net). Mud and water splashing didn’t seem to be a deterrent so I knew it had to be something special…and so it was! Our very first Belted Kingfisher!! What a marvellous bird in the hand. Sarah did the honours and got a verry nice addition to her burgeoning banding list – and deserved it after plunging through the elements to get it before it could get out of the net. This capture provided a great opportunity to study the bird up close. We figured it was an older (ASY – After Second Year) female.

Wing detail. -DOL


“New” migrants still weren’t obvious today although there seems to have been a moderate influx of Swamp Sparrows in the night. Otherwise it was same old same old….
Banded 15:
1 Belted Kingfisher
2 Swamp Sparrows
8 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 Common Grackles
ET’s: 43 spp.

As luck would have it, it turns out that the kingfisher is Jake’s favourite bird. (Jake is fast becoming our resident mammalogist.)
-DOL


Rick

April 19th – Fits and Starts

Lousy conditions, yes, but life must go on. A pair of tree swallows checking out a nest box getting ready to nest. -KDC


The fairly lousy April weather continues with temperatures going from -3 C. on the night of the 16th/17th up to +20 this morning. But the most aggravating thing has been the wind with gusts up to 53 kph this morning, billowing many of the nets so they weren’t worth opening. Still, this is the hand we’re being dealt this year and we just have to play it.

The swallow carries a length of straw that is much wider than the nestbox opening – it’s interesting to watch how they can get it into the hole. -KDC


Generally banding has been lousy, even though the 17th showed promise. This promise was dashed in the next two days but….on the 18th 3 keen observers, Irsha, Ethan, and Andy, through a census and then a river watch, turned up an amazing 62 species(!) including a first ever for the site – Red-necked Grebe – and a first for the Spring at the site – Wilson’s Snipe. As well, they had a number of firsts for the season: Green-winged Teal, Caspian Tern, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Vesper Sparrow. I can’t remember a species count this high at the Farm so early in the season.

At least one of our boxes has a pair of Eastern Bluebirds making a nest. -KDC


But this didn’t translate to the netting area where “new” migrants have not yet shown up and we watch the billowing nets with increasing frustration. This has got to change….it’s just a matter of when.
April 17th; Banded 16:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Northern Flicker
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 American Robins
1 Field Sparrow

Tough little birds = Field Sparrows have such a gentle demeanour. -KDC


1 American Tree Sparrow
2 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
5 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Common Grackle
ET’s: 41 spp.

Keira with our first Northern flicker of the year. -DOL


Sarah V., bird in hand, looking for inspiration. -KDC


April 18th; Banded 3:
1 American robin
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Common Grackle
ET’s: 62 spp.

We don’t usually see the local Sandhill Cranes hunting directly in the pond. -KDC


We’re back in business! (Just watch out for Liam the Privy Gnome.) DOL


Dave and Ethan Gosnell (and maybe Elaine?) redug the outhouse hole and got the outhouse back on its feet….so to speak. Dave even fixed the door. So we’re ready to go…whenever you have to.
April 19th; Banded 4:
1 Blue Jay
1 American Robin
1 American Goldfinch
1 Red-winged Blackbird
ET’s: 32 spp.

Female Red-winged Blackbird. -AN


Rick

April 12th – Dangerous Decisions

A Tree Swallow found dead in the river flats. Close examination showed that it was severely emaciated – it’s downfall? Starvation. -DOL


The urge to get to the breeding ground is a powerful driver. Early birds have an advantage so it is worth their while but….there are inherent risks usually associated with the weather. We’ve had a long string of cold, windy, wet days and for insect-eating birds this can be a death sentence, as it was for the Tree Swallow pictured above. We found this bird in the river flats. It was severely emaciated. Given the long string of poor conditions, I can only imagine that this bird only represents the tip of a gigantic iceberg. On some days one could see several hundred swallows flying low over the river (downstream from York is a good area to spot them) looking for any insects emerging from the water. And if the conditions aren’t conducive to insect development, the birds will suffer. Early birds make a dangerous decision which, sometimes, just doesn’t pay off.

It’s been a slow week banding at the Farm with adverse winds limiting the number of viable nets and rain/sleet/snow shortening the day. Still, we did what we could do whenever we got a chance to the extent that the conditions allowed. And by paying close attention we noticed that the number of species encountered each day began to climb indicating that migration was going on – although birds in the banding area seemed to be the same and we were getting more recaptures than new birds in the nets. When this weather “dam” breaks there will be a big push as the birds that are being held up now will be on their way further North
April 8th; Banded 15:
2 White-breasted Nuthatches
3 European Starlings
1 American Tree Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
6 Common Grackles
ET’s: 38 spp.

April 9th; Banded 13:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebirds have been checking out our nesting boxes. -DOL


4 American Robins
1 American Goldfinch
1 American Tree Sparrow
3 Song Sparrows
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Common Grackle
ET’s: 40 spp.

April 10th; Banded 18:
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 American Goldfinch
1 American Tree Sparrow
3 Song Sparrow
5 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
4 Common Grackles

Common Grackles have a malevolent look, eh? -DOL


1 Northern Cardinal
ET’s: 28 spp.

April 12th; Banded 7:
1 White-throated Sparrow
2 Song Sparrows
4 Red-winged Blackbirds

Emily with her first banded bird: Red-winged Blackbird -DOL


ET’s: 49 spp.

And other hijinx:

Liam taking a banana break sitting in the new porch throne. -DOL


Chris, a carpentry student at Conestoga, hard at work. -DOL


The finished product: a sturdy shelf for a large water jug – a much-needed commodity here. -DOL


Checking out a nest box. -DOL


Of course, if you adjust the picture a little, it takes on a completely different “feel”:

We were visited by a sanitation inspector this morning who was determined to get to the bottom of things… -DOL


Rick