Crocuses in the snow. -NRF
I was away travelling for 2 months and had my return timed to coincide with nice Spring weather….ha! More snow today weighed down the nets at Ruthven forcing an early closure and concentrated the birds around the feeders at Fern Hill Oakville producing a good catch.
Rick
Ruthven:
SNOW
The winter weather continued this morning with a steady snowfall resulting in snow accumulating on the ground and on the few nets we opened. Needless to say, we closed the nets within a short time. For the census, visibility was reduced but we did see and hear a mix of birds, with Tree Swallows feeding over the river.
Rick’s Rill swollen with rain and melting snow. -NRF
Banded 7
2 Song Sparrow
5 AMGO
ET’s: 29 spp.
Nancy
Sonali processes a Song Sparrow while Samuel scribes – a good team. -KAP
Fern Hill Oakville:
Today was a busy day in Oakville despite the heavy snowfall on and off. We had 5 nets open as well as 3 traps running and saw a variety of birds including Black-capped Chickadees, Slate-coloured Juncos, Northern Cardinals, House Finches, as well as our seasonal first catches of Common Grackles, and Brown Headed Cowbirds. We had a variety of students out interested in participating in banding and releasing today, helping to check ground traps, and calling out species observed passing by. All in all we banded a total of 39 birds:
3 Black-capped Chickadees
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 European Starling
The smile belies the anxiety of getting chomped by this very aggressive Northern Cardinal. -KAP
2 Northern Cardinal
5 Song Sparrow
5 Dark-eyed Junco
7 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds were taking advantage of the feeders. -KAP
3 Brown-headed Cowbird
4 House Finch
6 House Sparrow
ET’s: 23 spp.
Katherine