Wow! And just think: I hurried back from my travels in order to get the banding season off to a good start. Mother Nature is having no part of it. Strong cold winds and patchy drizzle, rain, snow squalls. You’d think that birds would be staying in the south. And maybe some are but….Tree Swallows have made up their minds and they’re on the way. Yesterday I counted 22 low over the Grand River and today there were at least 29. They are staying low and taking things off the surface (wind waves notwithstanding). I think they must be finding emerging midges. Whatever it is, the birds are finding enough sustenance to maintain themselves.

Yesterday, with wind gusts going up to 70 kilometers per hour, I didn’t open any nets or set traps – I made do with just a census and some observations from the windows. But today we opened….and didn’t get much. I did however see a Common Raven. The bird was being harassed by a couple of crows – which provided a great size comparison. The raven was about a third bigger than the crows.

Banded 11:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 American Tree Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
5 Dark-eyed Junco
1 House Finch

ET’s: 33 spp.