Yellow Warbler. -MMG
It’s been a wet Spring! And rain continued – a light drizzle on and off through much of May 2nd….as did high winds. Not great conditions for netting birds. There were birds around but not in any numbers.
May 2nd; Banded 45:
4 Mourning Doves
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Gray Catbird
1 Blue-headed Vireo
First Blue-headed Vireo.
2 Yellow Warblers
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat
First Common Yellowthroat.
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
9 Chipping Sparrows
1 Field Sparrow
3 Swamp Sparrows
9 White-throated Sparrows
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
ASY-M Baltimore Oriole – first of the year.
1 Baltimore Oriole
8 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 56 spp.
This morning (May 3rd) it looked pretty threatening at first light but the skies cleared quickly with the rising sun. I thought the light NW wind that blew through the night might have brought down some interesting migrants. This sense was heightened when 3 birds piled into net 4 before I even had it fully opened. But, alas, it just didn’t happen. As the skies cleared the numbers dropped off dramatically (although our ET’s species numbers were pushing 60).
May 3rd, Banded 27:
1 Mourning Dove
2 Blue Jays
1 Tufted Titmouse
1 House Wren
1 American Robin
3 Gray Catbirds
2 Yellow Warblers
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Indigo Bunting
4 Chipping Sparrows
3 White-throated Sparrows
1 White-crowned Sparrow
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
3 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 57 spp.
Ruthven Photo Gallery:
Swamp Sparrow.
Tick on a Swamp Sparrow. We removed it and sent it off to John Scott at the U of Guelph.
A blast from the past: Loretta Mousseau hard at work.
Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Fred Smith’s place just across the river. -F. Smith
Replenishing their energy after the long flight from Central America. -F. Smith
Chimney Swift chasing insects in the lee of the willow tree. -MMG
This “new” titmouse had a brood patch indicating that she was sitting on eggs in the area. -MMG
ASY male Indigo Bunting. -MMG
ASY female Common Yellowthroat. -MMG
Fern Hill Burlington
May 2nd:
Today the rain was thankfully less torrential then yesterday, and although our nets were somewhat slow we made up for it in interesting sightings and real gems to band. We started off the day observing TWO ravens perched on the top of our school, right above where our two Heads of School have their office. I’m not one for superstitions but even my senses were tingling! We caught and banded our first Common Yellow-throat of the season, a handsome older (after second year) male that had all the YO’s searching desperately to ID it in the Field Guide to gain the opportunity to release it. Another of our early morning highlights was what I believe was our school’s FIRST Northern Waterthrush EVER! To be quite honest I wasn’t exactly sure what it was at first since I have never observed or handled one myself, but our YO pro Madeline found it in the field guide and we studied it’s field marking together. We had an interesting blast from the past found in a Chipping Sparrow banded by Alessandra Wilcox. The Ruthven connection is strong at our school and in our banding history!
A YO with a Common Yellowthroat. -JJC
We banded 6 birds total:
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Chipping Sparrow
3 Brown Headed Cowbirds
What a surprise treat: Northern Waterthrush. -JJC
As the morning progressed, Janice observed a single Solitary Sandpiper, first but hopefully not last of it’s kind to fly over the school, and later observed a Palm Warbler on census. The resident Osprey was back soaring over our trees on the quest for the perfect branch to add to it’s nest. It has made a habit of breaking off branches from the edges of the forest and flapping off to the hydro lines on the other side of the Highway, closer to the lake.
My grade three students and I checked the bluebird boxes and were surprised and delighted when we peaked into one and found a female bravely remaining on her eggs. We quickly closed the box and retreated to a safe distance to record our observations. We noted that the male watched us from a nearby tree, his vibrant plumage all the more striking on such an overcast day.
May 3rd:
What a great day! Although I love a good rainy day as much as the next person, today’s break from the downpour brought out some much needed sun for all of us and a variety of birds that were just gems.
My personal highlight: a gorgeous Black and White Warbler: a first for Fern Hill. It brought back memories of my trip to Belize in January with my students. We stayed at an ecology center in the rainforest called Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (TREES) and I would wake up early every morning, grab a coffee and just drink in the diverse species flitting through the tree tops. I’ve now seen two: once in the rainforest, and once at Fern Hill. Oh the places this bird has been!
We recaptured a NOCA first banded October 19th 2014! We caught him once in 2015 and again today.
Banded 23:
1 MODO
1YBSA
1 RCKI
1 YWAR
1 BAWW
2 NOWA
3 COYE
1 SWSP
2 WTSP
1 EWCS
3 RWBL
6 AMGO
Banding Highlights
Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. -JJC
First Yellow bellied sap sucker
Another treat: male Black & White Warbler! -JJC
First Black and White Warbler
First Yellow Warbler
Fern Hill Photo Gallery:
YO’s taking a wing measurement. -JJC
A good way to beat the rain: studying a field guide. -JJC
Katherine and Janice are NOT giving us the finger but, rather demonstrating the damage a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker can inflict.
YO’s taking it all in. -JJC
Male (left) and female Common Yellowthroats. -JJC
Katherine