Maybe, I thought, I should break with the April 1st tradition in which I try to present the unbelievable as believable. Well, maybe I just might. After all, who would – could – believe that, after working my way through the wetland to the river just to see what was there, I should come upon 2 Black-headed Gulls! Now these are a European gull that have fairly recently established a breeding population on the East Coast but who would ever think that they might actually show up in the Canadian interior – on the Grand River no less! I was gob-smacked to say the least but….there they were, cavorting. Unbelievable!

After 32 days at sea on a research vessel (CCGS Jacques Cartier), what a treat it was to feel solid ground under my feet (although I can still feel it rocking just a little) and to sit at the picnic table and watch Blue-winged Teal on the pond and an Eastern Phoebe and 2 Myrtle Warblers hawking insects around it. When It warmed up a little with the emerging sun the midges decided to leave the pond and make their mating foray – to provide fuel for migrating birds.

Saturday’s work crew did a great job setting up 7 nets and clearing up a lot of the deadfall. I opened just after 7 and it wasn’t long before I got the first bird of the season. An American Tree Sparrow – a very nice way to start. These birds won’t be around too much longer before they head off on their long journey to the tree line to nest. There were a number of Little Brown Jobs around: Tree Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrows. Some I caught, others I just saw…but it was a nice start.

I must say that I’m a little intimidated by the new banding lab – so neat and clean. [While I was away my wife, Marg, did a major cleaning of the house so I’ve been instructed…forcefully…that I can’t mess anything up or drop any crumbs.] I’m afraid that this “mantra” sank into my being so I was reluctant to even set foot in the new building. I’m sure I’ll get over it, but it might take awhile.
We ended up banding 8 birds (listed below) and retrapping 6 – one, a Song Sparrow that had been banded in the Spring of 2023, so it had come home so to speak.

But the thing that I enjoyed the most was the variety of species that were already present – 33 species. Kind of jump started things. The pond was an important place for water birds: a pair of Canada Geese (getting ready to nest), at least 6 Blue-winged Teal, 2+ Wood ducks, 2 Mallards, 2 Hooded Mergansers. A pair of Sandhill Cranes flew right overhead.

Banded 8:
2 Black-capped Chickadees
4 American Tree Sparrows
2 Song Sparrows

ET’s: 33 species