(A theme inspired by the wit of Amy Thorne)
So there we were: a motley group of 9 huddled inside the tiny banding hut, listening to the drumming of the rain on the metal roof. Not a great night for catching Saw-whet Owls. But it was playing a long shot. The rain forecast for the morning of the 4th didn’t materialize other than a few brief sprinkles in the early morning. We opened nets fully prepared to close them down quickly if Mother Nature changed her mind…but She didn’t and we ended up handling 98 birds – 63 new bands and 35 retraps, almost all sparrows. Liam did a great job banding most of them while I scribed. So much for weather forecasts.

There was just a possibility of rain in the evening so we felt it was worth taking a chance. Besides we would have Sam, the “Weatherman”, with us who has his finger on the meteorological pulse and we knew we could count on him to guide our decisions….
We opened with great hopes, even expectations, despite Sam’s admonishments that rain was on the way. He sat in his portable weather chair, eyes glued to the screen of his phone’s weather radar app, telling us that not only was it on the way but indicating how many minutes it would be until it struck. Can you really believe everything you see on the internet? Not when your hopes want a different scenario. So we downplayed the weather map…and then had to hustle out to collapse the nets. This was after we had already done a couple of net rounds and found nothing.

The rain picked up and all eyes were on the weatherman. And then the rain stopped, as fast as it had begun. We rejoiced and prepared to re-open. “Not so fast”, says Sam and he held up the map for everyone to see. A doughnut hole had descended around us – we were in the “eye” of the storm as it were. Sam’s prediction: 6 minutes before it rained again. And what lay on the other side of the doughnut hole? Rain and more rain. The stoppage was really just a “sucker hole”. There was nothing for it but to close up shop.

But there was a bright side to all this. The confinement in such close quarters of such a bright set of individuals produced some great ideas around how to make the banding hut better. Amy’s idea was picked up by the rest of the crew and firmly endorsed: we needed a small wood-burning stove in the back corner of the hut. It would take the edge off frosty mornings and freezing nights. It would promote conviviality amongst the participants. And then it got better: we could brew tea or, even better, pots of chili for owling nights or…or…bacon and eggs after the nets were opened in the early morning.
So, we didn’t get any owls but we did get some great ideas for future directions. There is something to be said for doughnut holes and bird aficionados in a confined space getting out of the rain.
November 4th; Banded 63:
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
8 House Finches
11 American Goldfinches
3 Field Sparrows
23 American Tree Sparrows

11 Song Sparrows
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
5 Swamp Sparrows
This morning, the 5th, the only evidence of last night’s rain, was a few puddles in the net lanes and the squelch of mud underfoot along parts of the banding trail to the nets. It was quiet at first but as soon as the sun got up the meadow and edge became alive with movement and song. We opened for about 5 hours and handled another 72 birds: 43 banded, 29 retraps. Again, a large majority were sparrows.

November 5th; Banded 43:
6 American Goldfinches
1 Field Sparrow
10 American Tree Sparrows
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 White-throated Sparrows
14 Song Sparrows
6 Swamp Sparrows
Photo Album:

Rick

It’s been a hectic week: 2 days at the Farm; 3 days at Fern Hill; 3 owling nights. It’s quite noticeable now that things are tailing off, especially at the school campuses. That being said, the Farm meadow is still quite busy with sparrows. The grass stems have all turned brown and brittle and today’s high winds caused them to rattle but sparrows were popping up in good numbers and either flying to the edge or dropping back into a spot. It’s astounding actually…..

The school experience is very different than running a banding station. Not nearly so intense. The object is to familiarize students with the birds around them and the best way to do that (I’ve found) is to give them an opportunity to experience the birds up close. There’s nothing like holding and a releasing a bird to spur one’s interest with the result that one pays more attention to them. [Interestingly, some of the most interesting sightings this Fall have been pointed out to me by young students; e.g., a kettle of 200+ Broad-winged Hawks way off in the distance.] But all this takes time so we’re running just 5 nets at each campus situated in a shrubby corridor that facilitates bird movement. We also have a number of feeders to draw residents…and then others.

As I’m at the Burlington campus twice a week during the migration, we (teacher Alex Webb and I) decided to pull together a Young Ornithologists Club. We’ve had a really good response and it continues to grow – both in terms of numbers and enthusiasm. We tried owling with the group last night but got skunked. I’m wondering if the traffic noise has something to do with it (as well as the night lights that illuminate the campus – they’re intense!).
Here are the banding totals for Fern Hill:
October 30, Burlington; Banded 20:
1 European Starling
1 Hermit Thrush
5 American Robins (gorging on Buckthorn berries….alas)
11 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow

November 1, Oakville; Banded 12:
3 Mourning Doves
1 Blue Jay
1 House Sparrow
1 American Goldfinch
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Red-winged Blackbird
3 Northern Cardinals

November 2, Burlington; Banded 17:
1 Mourning Dove
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
5 American Robins (gorging on Buckthorn)
6 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Red-winged blackbird

The Farm continues to be busy! Sparrows zipping in and out of the meadow grass and bouncing between that and the edge. Tuesday (31st) was particularly busy: I filled all the bird bags on the first round. It calmed down somewhat after that but the first hour was ring and fling. Even though the temperature had dropped to below freezing and the nets were frozen and the poles slick with frost, it was a busy morning. Today was milder but very windy to the point that I could only open two nets. There was still a lot of action along the edge-meadow interface though. The sparrows have started to figure out that they should be heading South but there was still lots of activity – I just couldn’t open the nets to sample them. American Tree Sparrows seemed to be around in good numbers.
October 31; Banded 55:
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 House Finch
3 American Goldfinches
2 Field Sparrows
3 American Tree Sparrows
1 Fox Sparrow
8 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Savannah Sparrow
4 White-throated Sparrows
23 Song Sparrows
7 Swamp Sparrows
1 Common Yellowthroat

Braving the cold, we were successful catching Northern Saw-whet Owls: 2 on Tuesday night and 4 Wednesday night.



Looking at the above pics….Saw-whet Owls just seem to engender big smiles. They’s be a great mascot for….some cause that needed smiles.
Today I banded 16 birds out of two nets but gave up when even these began to fill with leaves.
1 Eastern Bluebird
2 American Goldfinches
1 Field Sparrow
9 American Tree Sparrows
2 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
Rick

For me, bird banding is an inherently satisfying solo activity. But it can be even more satisfying when done in the company of friends and bird aficionados. The interchange of sightings, bird lore, aging/sexing techniques, ideas to improve things for the future, and just the plain camaraderie and repartee make an already good situation a great one.

It’s amazing to me how really proficient the young birders, who started with me years ago, have become. And it was wonderful to have them helping out today. One of the things that becomes clear is the significant contribution skilled observers can make to the the day’s species count. Ethan and Liam did the census and turned up 33 species ( very nice for late in the migration) but also were always alert to passing birds with the result that, for the day, we encountered a whopping 49 species (check the day’s eBird list).

There were two keen new participants – Charlotte and Spenser – who wasted no time getting involved. They learned quickly and it was fun to share their enthusiasm. And, of course, the picnic table was littered with food, making a good day even better.

We continued to experiment with net placement, moving 2 nets from the edge interior to the field/edge interface. In their old spot they weren’t producing, especially as the warblers have mostly left; they began catching right away in their new locations. It’s a work in progress as we find out how best to utilize the meadow.

It was interesting to share ideas about the future with Ethan and his Mom, Elaine (the new owner). Now it doesn’t seem like a boardwalk across the wetland ponds, an observations deck fot=r the main pond, and one for the meadow are that far-fetched. It’s good to dream…and who knows where it might end.

Banded 40:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 American Goldfinch

1 Field Sparrow

3 American Tree Sparrows
4 White-throated Sparrows

15 Song Sparrows
3 Lincoln’s Sparrows

11 Swamp Sparrows

October 29th: A Window of Opportunity:
It rained through the night but tailed off at 10 AM just as the weather radar map predicted (how often does that happen!?). I opened a couple of nets and was almost immediately overwhelmed by a hit of 35 birds in Nets 1 & 2, which included 22 young Cedar Waxwings. After Dealing with these birds I closed as it was beginning to sprinkle again.

An extra set of eyes/ears would have been useful today. I was quite busy taking care of business and am sure I missed alot of passing birds. Species count was only 23 – less than half of yesterday’s 49.
Banded 38:
1 Eastern Phoebe
22 Cedar Waxwings
2 American Tree Sparrows
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 White-throated Sparrows
7 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow

Rick

Today actually started last night. I decided to put fatigue aside and head out to the Farm to see if I could catch Northern-Saw-whet Owls there. Turns out….I could. Of course they didn’t show up until the 2nd and 3rd net checks at 10:30 and 11:20. Still, these wonderful little raptors make it all worthwhile. And as an added bonus I heard the whinnying of an Eastern Screech Owl in the distance. (I’m glad it was in the distance as they will try to predate a Saw-whet when it’s in the net.)

I was back at it around 7:30 this morning. In the meantime a SW wind had picked up and proceeded to billow a number of the nets and fill them with leaves. So….we put in a solid 3 and a half hours and then closed up. Despite the wind, it was quite apparent that there had been a significant exodus. The Sparrow Field simply wasn’t as busy as it had been over the past 2 weeks. In fact, Net 4A – placed along the interface between field and edge and a big catcher – did not see a single bird today. Even so we managed to band 33 birds (further swelling our sparrow numbers) and handled a large number (23) of retraps – birds we had banded previously. One interesting arrival was the American Tree Sparrow. This species, even more than a junco, for me signals the end of the migration and the onset of Winter. [I’ll bet it will be pretty confused when it runs into the warm/hot temperatures forecast for this weekend….as was I when I found it the net.]

Banded 33:
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Carolina Wren

2 House Finches
2 Field Sparrows
2 American Tree Sparrows
2 White-throated Sparrows
12 Song Sparrows
9 Swamp Sparrows
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Cardinal

Rick