So far it has been a mild, wet Winter but, finally….we’ve begun to get some cold, Winter temperatures; it was -17 C last night going into sunrise this morning. And, although there was just a dusting of snow over the fields (and none on the gravel pad where I set my traps) I figured it was worth the chance of getting out to see if i could get some birds. The traps were set by 8:10. Although I hadn’t seen any birds when I arrived it took only 5 minutes for a mixed flock of Snow Buntings (~30) and Horned Larks (~10) to land to check them out. They were very flighty, setting down around the traps briefly and then flying up, swirling around, and then landing again. This went on for 5 minutes and then…..they were gone, off to the west. But, what’s this!? There was a bird bouncing around in one of the traps! Looked a little smaller than the larks and buntings…sure enough it was. Lapland Longspur – the first Arctic-nesting migrant of the season. What a treat!

I hadn’t picked it out in the swirling mass of the flock. But it hadn’t taken it long to get caught. And it didn’t surprise me in the least. I’ve discovered that, when they do show up, they have an uncanny ability to find their way into the traps – and the food – very quickly. I’m not sure why this is the case but, if they come to the traps, they invariably get to the corn quickly while their compatriots spend a great amount of time ambling round and round them trying to figure out how to get to the corn. The Longspurs just seem to be better spatial problem solvers: go down the tunnel, make a right, and presto, a cornucopia.

Half an hour later a group of 9 Horned Larks showed up and one of these was trapped as well. So it was a good morning and a good start to the season. The cold helps greatly; snow cover would help even more.

Rick

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” -Thomas Paine

Although this famous quote is drawn from a completely different context, it is certainly fitting to my current mood. These are the “doldrums”, the time between the end of the Fall banding season and the beginning of the Snow Bunting banding season. But given the impact of climate change on our “Winter” temperatures and precipitation, the advent – even the possibility – of there even being a Snow Bunting season is questionable. But hope springs eternal as they say so, since the end of December, I have been putting out my cut corn bait piles at my banding site close to the York (International) Airport on 9th Line.

I haven’t been optimistic so far as temperatures have been mostly above freezing and there hasn’t been any snow. This should be Winter….but it’s not…and it’s very trying. However, yesterday morning, quite early, I was awoken by the sound of a snow plow running down the street. I peeked outside. C’mon….one, maybe two centimeters of snow. This snow plow driver really wanted some work! I checked the temperature: just above freezing. I was faced with a dilemma: take a look at the bait site or…go back to bed. Amazingly, sloth did not win out. What the hell…..you just never know…although the fact that I hadn’t seen any Horned Larks even near my site was a very bad sign as they usually show up before the buntings and “show” them where the food is.

To my great surprise, upon my arrival I found a flock of about 35 female Snow Buntings spread between the two bait piles!! When I pulled in they took off and headed due west. They didn’t even look back. This was a migratory flock, heading for their wintering area, not a feeding flock that would remain in the area to take advantage of my largesse. I’ve seen this many times before: at the beginning of the season, the birds that initially show up are very “flighty” and are on the move – once they lift off they’re gone. Feeding flocks might leave the site initially when disturbed but will circle around, possibly sit out in the field to see what is going on, and then return to the corn when they feel the coast is clear. But the important thing is that a flock of buntings had returned and had found the food. Wintering flocks range over a wide area. They will store this information away and when/if conditions get more difficult they quite likely will return (unless this is a group that is headed to the midwest).

The big question that intrigues me, though, is how did these birds find these bait piles!? At the time of their arrival the corn would have been under 2 centimeters of snow and, to my eye at least, invisible. Are they able to pick up different wavelengths that would result in their being able to “see” under the snow? Another possibility, and one that appeals to me the most, is that the flock contained an older bird that had been here before and had led the flock to it. Unlikely….but not impossible. Whatever the explanation, these birds had found my bait piles and may do so again. It didn’t look like a random thing either. The piles are about 2 meters apart. When I checked them (the birds had uncovered them to get at the corn), their tracks were all within just a couple of meters of the corn. There was no sign that they had wandered in from a distance. They either saw the corn or knew it was there and dropped in to feed.

I went back this morning. The snow is disappearing, still a bit on the ground. No Snow Buntings. I checked the tracks that were present: crows, rock doves, and some smaller passerines. Later, Marg saw a group of 5 Horned Larks feeding there. Things are heating up…so to speak.
Rick

Well, it’s been a marvellous Fall migration at the Farm. And usually the finish ends with a whimper but not this weekend; we were busy over the weekend, banding good numbers (of sparrows) and then getting the nets down. There can be no question about the impact of planting the adjoining 7-acre field in prairie grasses: the sparrow numbers exploded. We banded a total of 1,791 birds; our second best Fall was last year when we did 852. We more than doubled that number. Below is the Top Ten for the Fall. The number in brackets is the total of that species for the last 2 years:
1/ Song Sparrow – 479 (98)
2/ Swamp Sparrow – 359 (108)
3/ American Tree Sparrow – 177 (6)
4/ White-throated Sparrow – 113 (162)
5/ Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 83 (119)
6/ Lincoln’s Sparrow – 64 (5)
7/ Dark-eyed Junco – 56 (5)
8/ American Goldfinch – 55 (31)
9/ Cedar Waxwing – 53 (2)
10/ Common Yellowthroat – 48 (54)

As I mentioned, the weekend was busy.
November 11th; Banded 58:
4 American Goldfinches
40 American Tree Sparrows
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 White-throated Sparrows
4 Song Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
1 Northern Cardinal
Several sets of hands – Joanne’s and Sam’s – made light work of extracting, banding and taking down 7 nets on the 12th.
November 12th; Banded 30:
2 American Goldfinches
24 American Tree Sparrows

2 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Swamp Sparrows
THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT HELPED MAKE THIS SEASON SUCH A SUCCESS!! I’m already looking forward to the Spring, to see what impact this new field will have on Spring migrants. The Fall was magical.
Rick

I banded at the Farm on the 7th, 8th, and today (10th). It’s obvious that the migration is winding down, certainly in terms of the number of species that can be observed. I’m still banding half decent numbers…but the mix has changed. Instead of Swamp and Song Sparrows I’m getting American Tree Sparrows and juncos. It’s a good trade off. The Farm is the Winter home for a number of Tree sparrows. On the 7th I retrapped 3 birds that I had originally banded on April 8th & 9th, 2023. In this instance, I caught them at the same time in 2 nets that are right side by side. Do you think they spent the intervening time in close proximity or was this just a coincidence? On the 8th I retrapped another 2 that had been banded on April 2nd and 12th. Wouldn’t it be great to know where they’ve gone and returned from?

The 7th was windy and an interesting “raptor day”. I observed: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Harrier, Rough-legged Hawk, and Merlin. I closed early as the nets were billowing and the oaks were (finally) releasing their leaves for them to catch….
November 7th; Banded 11:
3 American Tree Sparrows
5 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 Song Sparrows

November 8th; Banded 64:
1 Purple finch
3 House finches
4 American Goldfinches
33 American Tree Sparrows
19 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow

November 10th; Banded 34:
1 Eastern Phoebe
2 American Goldfinches
23 American Tree Sparrows
1 White-throated Sparrow
7 Song Sparrow
This was an interesting day – I thought the end had come: when I opened the nets (and this was later than usual by half an hour), there were NO sparrows to be seen. Half an hour later I had a couple of nets full. Like me, I guess they had slept through the alarm and were reluctant to get moving before the sun started to warm things up….
Rick