We’ve had a busy 3 days at the Farm banding a total of 133 birds almost three quarters of which (73.7%) have been sparrows: 22 White-throated Sparrows, 33 Song Sparrows, 21 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 22 Swamp Sparrows. The prairie grass field is proving to be a bonanza for them. We’ve changed and/or modified some net placements in response to the way birds are utilizing the habitat. When the field was just a soybean “desert” the birds moved along the edge of scrub/forest/wetland bordering the field. Now they actively move between the field and the edge. Most of this movement is by seed-eating sparrows. Warblers continue to move lengthwise but this season have stayed pretty high in the treetops.

We finished September with a respectable 423 birds banded and started off October with another 47. So things are going well. Of course, the weather helps, as we seem to be living through a never-ending Summer; temperatures today were in the mid-20’s and with almost no wind it felt much hotter than that. But birds are still on the move as we’re making the transition to kinglet, White-throated Sparrow time and Sarah even picked up a junco this morning. And the warbler variety is dropping as Myrtles make their presence felt. So I guess the message is: don’t let the temperature fool you; Fall conditions are nigh.

September 29th; Banded 49:
2 Eastern Phoebes
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 House Wren
1 Winter Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 Swainson’s Thrush
18 Song Sparrows
12 Lincoln’s Sparrows
4 Swamp Sparrows
1 Ovenbird
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Magnolia Warbler
2 Indigo Buntings
ET’s: 28 spp.

September 30th; Banded 37:

1 Blue Jay
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 House Wren

1 Hermit Thrush
4 White-throated Sparrows
4 Song Sparrows
6 Lincoln’s Sparrows
12 Swamp Sparrows
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
3 Common Yellowthroats
ET’s: 36 spp.

October 1st; Banded 47:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Winter Wren
3 Gray Catbirds
14 White-throated Sparrows

11 Song Sparrows
3 Lincoln’s Sparrows
6 Swamp Sparrows
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
ET’s: 43 spp.

Rick

A small, inland banding site like the Farm is subject to the vagaries of weather. As a rule of thumb I’ve found that weather conditions that most people find “great” usually result in poor banding numbers here. Whereas unsettled conditions have birds showing up in good numbers. Sunday (24th) was a lovely day but we banded only 4 birds. There were very few birds to be seen at all, even along the field edge which has been producing numerous sparrows. U of Guelph student, Jelany, made the trek all the way from Guelph to further his banding career – he got to band all four birds but it wasn’t a very good return on his travel investment. (Although he did get to band a lovely male Black-throated Blue Warbler.)

Last night we were treated to “unsettled” weather in this area: wet patches from scattered light showers were evident on River Road as I drove to the Farm. The field edge was hopping with sparrow activity, with birds moving between the wetland edge and prairie grass meadow. We were able to tap into this wealth and ended up banding 41 birds. The meadow is making a big difference in our catching. After today’s banding we have done 72 Song Sparrows, 17 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 37 Swamp Sparrows and these 3 species make up just over 37% of our overall catch. Now it may just be coincidence, I realize that, but my sense is that we’re getting significantly more sparrows because of the copious amounts of food that the field provides.

For comparison, I’ll throw up some numbers from the previous 2 Fall seasons at the Farm. In September of 2021, we banded only 14 Song Sparrows, 0 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 18 Swamp Sparrows; the Fall total for these 3 species was 21, 1 and 26 respectively. In September of 2022 (a VERY poor month) we banded only 6 Song Sparrows, 0 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 9 Swamp Sparrows. (We finished strong though with good catches in October and finished the season with 77 Songs, 4 Lincolns, and 82 Swampies for a total of 163 birds – not that much ahead of the 126 current total for these 3 species.) We’ll see what the final Fall totals yield but my sense is that this prairie grass field is greatly benefiting sparrows passing through and our total numbers will be significantly higher.

Sandwiched between these two days was an outing at the Fern Hill Burlington campus. There, we’re operating only 5 nets, set into the scrubby edge habitat along the east side of the property. This leafy cover turns up a variety of interesting birds – both for me and for the students who seem progressively more interested in learning and getting involved – helping do net checks during recesses and lunch breaks, carrying bird bags, adding branches to our burgeoning brush pile….. It’s great to have so many students looking forward to the next banding session and participation in the Young Ornithologists’ Club. We already have a couple of good scribes!
Here are the banding totals:
Farm; September 24th – banded 4:
1 Gray Catbird
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler

Fern Hill School, Burlington Campus; September 25th – Banded 20:
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Northern Flickers
2 Blue Jays
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Eastern Bluebirds
2 American Robins
1 Red-eyed Vireo
3 American Goldfinches
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Dark-eyed Junco (the harbinger of coming Winter)
1 Song Sparrow
1 Nashville Warbler

1 Western Palm Warbler

Farm; September 26th – banded 41:
3 Eastern Phoebes
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 House Wrens
2 Gray Catbirds
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
3 White-throated Sparrows
7 Song Sparrows
8 Lincoln’s Sparrows
7 Swamp Sparrows
2 Common Yellowthroats
4 Myrtle Warblers

Rick

A beautiful, sunshiny day; birds on the move; and old friends – a nice way to spend a day. Birds weren’t plentiful but they were steady in small numbers.

Banded 29:
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
5 House Wrens
1 Marsh Wren
7 White-throated Sparrows
4 Song Sparrows
2 Lincoln’s Sparrows
3 Swamp Sparrows
4 Common Yellowthroats
ET’s: 30 spp.

Although it has the veneer of a psychiatric disorder, it isn’t. NDD – or Nature Deficit Disorder – was cleverly coined to draw attention to the large, and growing disparity between humans, especially children, and an awareness of the natural world around us. Most children in our culture can not identify 5 bird species…but can recognize, on average, 200 corporate logos. As most of us are aware, the well-being of the world we live in is on thin ice. It’s important that “people” start to do what they can to protect “the environment”. But that’s sort of an empty sentiment when most of the “people” don’t know what is in that environment – how can we ask them to protect and maintain something they have no idea about?

Fern Hill School has seen this disconnect as a problem and, following Joanne Fleet’s initiative, has fostered a field studies aspect to their education which includes the study and banding of birds. It’s a line of teaching that’s right up my alley, something I really believe in. After setting up nets last week we got going in earnest this week. What is encouraging is the interest that the students show in birds. We are starting our “Young Ornithologists” Club this week. It was supposed to be Thursday but we had enthusiasts, some of whom had been involved with banding in the Spring, run with it today, as soon as the opportunity arose. There’s a real hands-on aspect to their involvement – I try to get interested students “doing” as soon as possible – from youngsters scribing to older students walking through holding birds and then, with help, actually banding. We’ll have no trouble filling this club. Hopefully, those involved will carry this interest and knowledge into the future.

Yesterday (18th) at Fern Hill Burlington we banded 23 birds:
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 House Wren
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 American Robin
5 Gray Catbirds
1 American Goldfinch
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
3 Tennessee Warblers
2 Nashville Warblers
1 American Redstart
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Northern Cardinal
ET’s: 29 spp.

September 19th at the Farm:

I don’t think I was ever meant to be a hermit but I must admit that being on my own at the Farm today was a treat. Blue skies, light winds and a river of birds moving along the edges and filtering through the treetops. Unfortunately I didn’t get much of a chance to just kick back and take it all in. Birds were finding the nets. At one point a flock of 18 juvenile Cedar Waxwings decided to pile into Net #1 at the same time. They’d been feasting on grapes as my hands would have indicated……Interestingly, the “late” warblers, Myrtles and Blackpolls are starting to move through as are White-throated Sparrows, a species I usually associate more with October.
Banded 72:
4 Eastern Wood Pewees
2 Blue-headed Vireos
3 Red-eyed Vireos
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 House Wren
2 Marsh Wrens
1 American Robin
18 Cedar Waxwings
2 White-throated Sparrows
6 Song Sparrows
3 Swamp Sparrows
5 Nashville Warblers
4 Common Yellowthroats
1 Magnolia Warbler
2 Blackpoll Warblers
1 Western Palm Warbler
14 Myrtle Warblers
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
ET’s: 39 spp.
Rick