The Gravel Bar – you never know what you might find there. -Etobicoke Camera Club
Strong SW winds yesterday seemed to hold birds up. This benefited Janice at Fern Hill School where, with just 6 nets she banded 34, one more than us with 19 nets. “Her” birds weren’t willing to take on the crossing of Burlington and Hamilton into that wind. But it meant that there were fewer birds for us on the south side of those cities. But last night the winds dropped and things got underway again and we were much busier – not big time busy but busier….and so was Fern Hill…..Today Caleb and ShariAnn came out and I had them open the riverflat/bagger nets. They had a pretty good haul of White-throats and kinglets.
A very late Eastern Wood Pewee. -C. Scholtens
The most interesting birds today from my perspective were two very late neotropical migrants that spend their Winters in South America: Eastern Wood Pewee and Blackpoll Warbler. The Blackpoll was carrying a good deal of fat and weighed 17.5 grams. Enough to get it comfortably to the New England States where it will continue to fatten before setting out over the Atlantic for an 84-hour non-stop flight to South America. Without fat these little birds weigh around 10 grams.
This Blackpoll Warbler was carrying a good fat load and weighed 17.5 grams.
October 13
Ruthven – Banded 34:
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Eastern Phoebe
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Blue-headed Vireo
17 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
2 Song Sparrows
4 White-throated Sparrows
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 American Goldfinch
ET’s: 40 spp.
Rick
Nancy extracting birds from 9. -Etobicoke Camera Club
Fern Hill – Banded 35:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
5 American Robins
2 Tennessee Warblers
1 Nashville Warbler
9 Myrtle Warblers
2 Blackpoll Warblers
11 Chipping Sparrows
1 Red-winged Blackbird
3 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 29 spp.
Janice
One of my favourite spots….and a good place to watch birds. -Etobicoke Camera Club
October 14;
Ruthven – Banded 79:
1 Downy Woodpecker
3 Brown Creepers
12 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
3 Hermit Thrushes
1 Tennessee Warbler
22 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
3 Northern Cardinals
4 Field Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
10 White-throated Sparrows
11 Dark-eyed Juncos
6 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 46 spp.
Rick
Fern Hill School; Banded: 41
1 Mourning Dove
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Hermit Thrush
6 American Robins
2 Cedar Waxwings
2 European Starlings
5 Myrtle Warblers
3 Chipping Sparrows
1 Field Sparrow
6 White-throated Sparrows
1 Slate-colored Junco
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 House Finches
4 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 30 spp.
Janice
We’ve been seeing Bald Eagles every day for the past week or so. This one was perched in a spruce in front of the mansion. -C. Scholtens
Bagger (River Flat) Banding – 27
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Brown Creeper
4 Golden-crowned Kinglets
5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
3 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
7 White-throated Sparrows
Caleb