A hungry Tree Swallow searches for insects at the edge of the river.
A light snow was falling as I headed for Ruthven around 6:00 and continued to fall throughout the morning. When I arrived I found that the snow had not frozen on the nets and, as there was no wind and temperatures were a touch above freezing, I decided to open a limited number of nets and set out some traps.
Rick’s Rill, swollen with runoff, winds through a snow-covered forest.
I was not expecting to be particularly busy but….I was wrong. By the time we closed up 6 hours later, we had handled 106 birds. The really interesting thing was the number of retraps: 63, a record total. Some of these were local residents that were hitting the feeders hard (e.g., 6 Downy Woodpeckers and 9 Black-capped Chickadees) but some were migrants that were hanging around until better weather came (e.g., 11 American Tree Sparrows and 8 Dark-eyed Juncos). The snow seems to have put a stop to the migration (for the day at least).
The 5 retrapped Brown-headed Cowbirds we got today had ALL been shipped to Western for behavioural experiments s last year. They were released when the work was done. And here they are….
First Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the year – a male. They are back early….despite the weather.
However, we did encounter 2 “new” birds for the year: our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet (this is our earliest record for this species by 3 days) and a Barn Swallow hunkered down by the river. And we banded 14 American Tree Sparrows – had they moved into the area during the night before the snow began?
Despite the snow and temperatures hovering around 2 degrees, Chorus Frogs were singing lustily from this pond (below Net 8).
Despite the snow and the cold temperatures, Chorus Frogs were singing loudly in the pond below Net 8. Lust is a powerful thing….I’m told.
Tree Swallow (left) and a Barn Swallow sitting out the snow fall in tall grasses beside the river.
Banded 43:
2 Mourning Doves
1 Tufted Titmouse
3 Black-capped Chickadees
5 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 European Starling
2 Northern Cardinals
14 American Tree Sparrows
5 Song Sparrows
1 Dark-eyed Junco
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
6 American Goldfinches
Species Count: 36 spp.
Photo Gallery:
First Barn Swallow of the year at Ruthven (although Matt saw one across the river a couple of days ago).
The snowy banks set off the glass-like surface of the Grand River.
Older male Red-winged Blackbirds have a brilliant red shoulder patch or epaullete. In young males the shoulder is more orange.
Three female woodpeckers for comparison: Downy (left), Hairy (middle), and Red-bellied (right).
Rick