October 17th & 18th – “Bobble Heads With Huge Eyes”

Bobble-head with huge eyes. -B. Fotheringham

It was sort of a banding blowout weekend. We were going at it both day and night. The weather has turned cold…maybe you’ve noticed… and the wind switched to the WNW pushing migrants down from the north.

-B. Fotheringham

The fierce eyes of a hunter. -B. Fotheringham

Let’s talk first about the owls. I just loved Clair’s description of the cute little Saw-whets: Bobble heads with huge eyes.We had tried several times early in the month to get some but it wasn’t until the night of the 14th-15th that we managed to attract a few, catching 6. Friday night Nancy put out the sound system again and got 3. I have been curious for some time as to whether Saw-whets follow the Grand River when they’re migrating or move south on a broad front. To begin to answer this question we put up a “T” net configuration at Taquanyah Conservation Area on Saturday. Taquanyah is 3.8 km from Ruthven and about 2.5 km in from the river. Saturday night Ben and I sat out in the cold (it got pretty chilly I can assure you) and tried our luck. We caught 3 owls until calling it quits at 11. The first one we got was a recapture of an owl that had been banded on October 13th, 2013 in Saint Louis County, Minnesota! It had been hatched in 2012. That was exciting.

We set up a “T” net configuration to catch Saw-whets and Taquanyah CA – we caught 3 owls the first night.

Diane and Dorothy obviously enjoying a Saw-whet. -B. Fotheringham

Alessandra with the owl she just banded. -B. fotheringham

In the meantime, Nancy and the rest of the Baggers were entertaining a sell-out crowd at Ruthven, enjoying the heat and the goodies that Irene (and others) provided. They managed to band 5 owls but had to stay up to 2 AM to do it…..[Nancy is out again tonight and, so far, has caught one more….so they’re definitely on the move.]

Rusty Blackbird – flocks have been moving through in the past few days. -A. Wilcox

Over the weekend there were lots of birds on the move: American Robins and Rusty Blackbirds were on the go as were Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Juncos are starting to show up in large numbers. The BAGend Baggers were out both days (in fact, they slept over in the banding lab on Saturday night) and got a good number of birds from the river flats. Between them and handling “our” birds, it was pretty hectic. Rewarding but hectic.

We’re seeing American Robins in large numbers (and have been for the past week). -C. Scholtens

You can tell the age of Dark-eyed Juncos by checking their eye colour. One of the Baggers noticed a nematode-like parasite wriggling around inside the eye. I took a picture of it and sent it on to a banding group forum to try and learn something about it. Here’s the feedback I’ve received so far; Karen Shearer writes:

If you look carefully in this junco’s eye you will see a parasite – what you can’t see is it writhing around.

Hi Rick,
Thanks so much for sending this, what a fantastic photo!
I suspect it may be a round worm-Baylisascaris procyonis, Toxocara canis etc. I would like to send it to the Canadian Co-operative wildlife health center and see which is the most likely if OK with you?
Karen

I’ll keep you posted as I learn more.

Saturday, October 17th; Banded 72:
3 Northern Saw-whet Owls (from Friday night)
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Brown Creepers
4 Golden-crowned Kinglets
10 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Hermit Thrushes
1 American Robin
1 Cedar Waxwing
2 European Starlings
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
14 Yellow-rumped Warblers
2 Blackpoll Warblers
1 Field Sparrow
2 Fox Sparrows
3 Song Sparrows
10 White-throated Sparrows
5 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Rusty Blackbirds
2 Purple finches
2 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 48 spp.

Bagger (River Flats) Banding; Banded 35:
1 Northern Flicker
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Hermit Thrush
14 American Robins
2 Song Sparrows
3 Swamp Sparrows
6 White-throated Sparrows

October 18th; Banded 98:
7 Northern Saw-whet Owls (from the night before)
1 Winter Wren
3 Golden-crowned Kinglets
15 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Eastern Bluebirds
9 Hermit Thrushes
8 American Robins
10 Cedar Waxwings
14 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Fox Sparrow
3 Song Sparrows
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
8 White-throated Sparrows
9 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Rusty Blackbird
1 Purple Finch
3 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 44 spp.

Bagger (River Flats) Banding;
Banded 43:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Brown Creeper
3 Golden-crowned Kinglets
8 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Hermit Thrushes
5 American Robins
3 Yellow-rumped Warblers
2 Chipping Sparrows
3 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
2 White-throated Sparrows
12 Dark-eyed Juncos

Photo Gallery:

Large flocks of European Starlings are gathering in and around Ruthven. The flocks descend and strip berry crops; late in the afternoon many will land on the banding lab roof to drink from the eaves trough. Inside it sounds like rain on the roof. -A. Wilcox.

Starlings gathering on the banding lab roof to get water from the eaves trough. Shortly before this picture was taken there were several hundred on the roof.

Clair with a White-throated Sparrow that she just banded.

Jaden with her first banded bird: a Hermit Thrush.

Micah with his first banded bird – a Cedar Waxwing.

Fox Sparrow – a late migrant and not often seen…..often just a fleeting glimpse of rufous in the shrubbery. -A. Wilcox

Brown Creeper caught in a mist net. Their cryptic colouration causes one to overlook them. -C. Scholtens

Brown Creeper – short distance migrant and winter resident. -A. Wilcox

Dorsal view of a Northern Flicker. -A. Wilcox

Ventral view of a male Northern Flicker. -C. Scholtens

Old friends from Southampton Island field camps – Rob, Isabel, Kip and Sadie – visiting for the weekend to take in the bird action.

Rusty Blackbirds feeding along the laneway up to the Mansion. Some will drop down to feed while others remain above “keeping guard”; after awhile they’ll change places – always individuals on the lookout for Accipiters. -C. Scholtens

Yellow-rumped Warbler in Goldenrod. First thing in the morning we see them emerging from the goldenrod in the Butterfly Meadow where they have spent at least part of the night. -C. Scholtens