Magical early morning: clear blue skies, bracing temperature but no wind to speak of, mist rising off the pond, and a clear, loud “dawn chorus”. I think these ideal migration conditions caused many migrants to pass over, making the most of them to get as far as possible. There weren’t many new migrants around – most of the ones I was seeing were going to be breeding residents, like Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, etc. But there were a few warblers and a small wave of flickers. The pace was such that I could do a round, band a few, put more wood chips down on the trails, and then do another round in marvellous conditions. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Banded 18:
1 Tree swallow
1 Gray Catbird
2 Swamp Sparrows
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Common Grackle
1 Western Palm Warbler
9 Myrtle Warblers

ET’s: 41 spp.
Rick

There wasn’t much happening in the cool early morning (I hope you all caught the gorgeous sunrise!). But as it warmed up, birds began to move and we lucked into some really nice ones. The female Blue-winged Warbler we caught was the first one for this site. [Interestingly, Sam was talking about them on Saturday, how nice it would be to see one, and…..here it was! I’ve asked him to keep thinking/talking about unusual species to see if he can conjure them up in real life.]

We didn’t band a lot of birds – 26 = but we banded a nice variety: 15 species. We also handled another 14 retraps. We had a group of visitors from Land Care Niagara that were very interested in the ecology of the site and in banding itself – it was a “bird banding workshop” I found out later. We caught birds at a rate that allowed us to spend the time to teach/learn and the variety simply maintained excitement and interest.

Banded 26:
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 House Wren
2 Cedar Waxwings
1 American Goldfinch
1 White-crowned Sparrow

1 White-throated Sparrow
2 Swamp Sparrows
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Blue-winged Warbler
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Northern Parula

1 Yellow Warbler
1 Western Palm Warbler
7 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 40 spp.
Photos:



Rick

I drove through rain to get to the Farm. But I don’t have much faith in weather forecasts so I thought….maybe the opportunity will come. And it did….sort of. It stopped when I got there so I opened a few nets, nets that I could close easily should it start up again. And it did. So we collapsed them and then reopened a couple in a lull.

There were VERY few birds around. Yesterday, the trees were dripping with them; everywhere you looked you saw warblers flitting. Not today. There was the odd flit…here and there…but no major flitting. But some of the flits were worth chasing: Northern Parulas and Cape May Warblers.

As I’ve said on a number of occasions, the Farm is work in progress. And as there weren’t a lot of birds to go after we (or at least two of us) decided to carry on building the wood chip trail. The Gosnells had delivered a number of large piles of wood chips a few days ago. The plan is to lay them out on the heavily used trail sections that, with use, have become muddy and worn. This will make walking easier and less messy (Haldimand mud is notorious) and will tend to keep travelers on a narrow path and let the verges grow back in. So, while Keira and Riley held down the birding end of things, Keira’s dad, Oreleo, and I (well, mostly Oreleo) worked on laying down the chips along the trail. The new trail, now known as the “Oreleo Highway” is quite extensive and will help maintain the trails and the habitat.


Banded 5:
1 Gray Catbird
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 40 spp.
Rick

Good weather finally arrived and has spurred on the migration of millions of birds. For the past 5 days they’ve been pouring through the Farm site. The “dawn chorus” is loud and clear and the edge between the pond and the prairie comes alive with birds on the move. I’ll quickly bring you up to date on the numbers we’ve been banding and seeing.
April 30th, Banded 62:
Banders: Nancy, Joanne, Dave
1 Tree Swallow
1 Gray Catbird
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 White-crowned Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
5 Swamp Sparrows
8 Red-winged Blackbirds
3 Brown-headed Cowbirds
2 Common Yellowthroats
4 Yellow Warblers
1 Pine Warbler
9 Western Palm Warblers
25 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 50 Spp.

May 2nd, Banded 55:
Bander: Rick
2 Warbling Vireos
1 Tree Swallow

1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
26 White-throated Sparrows
5 Swamp Sparrows
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
2 Yellow Warblers
7 Western Palm Warblers
9 Myrtle Warblers

May 3rd, Banded 20:
Banders: Rick, Jeremy
1 House Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 Song Sparrow
1 Nashville Warbler
5 Yellow Warblers
3 Western Palm Warblers
8 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 41 spp.

May 4th, Banded 78:
Banders: Rick, Sam
6 Tree Swallows
1 European Starling
1 American Robin
2 American Goldfinches
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow

2 Swamp Sparrows
2 Baltimore Orioles
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Black and White Warbler

2 Common Yellowthroats
10 Western Palm Warblers
46 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 65 spp. (including a Virginia Rail!)
Rick