September 17th

Another beautiful day to spend time at Ruthven. The stars and a mostly full moon were out when I opened the nets, and before too long it was a clear and sunny morning. It got a little windy later in the day, and I had to close the nets in open areas (after spending a while picking leaves out). There seemed to be a good number of birds around, though I didn’t get to do a census, so the estimated total number of species was only 38. I also didn’t get the same interesting mix of warblers that Rick did yesterday. However, there were some Blackpoll Warblers, a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a few Palm Warblers, three kinds of thrushes, and some Goldfinches around. Two Goldfinches were banded, and about 15 more were observed.

I can’t find my list of banded birds right now, so here is what I can remember.

Banded 31:
4 Swainson’s Thrush
1 Veery
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Red-eyed Vireo
2 Eastern Wood Pewee
6 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Ovenbird
2 Common Yellowthroat
2 Chipping Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
3 Gray Catbird
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2 American Goldfinch

Retrapped 6:
2 Gray Catbird
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Chipping Sparrow

Well, I remembered most of them. I took some pictures, but will have to add them later.

Jeff

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September 16th – A Lovely Gift!

I opened the banding lab this morning to find the New Peterson Guide to the Birds of North America sitting on the desk. What a treat – it’s an excellent, updated guide (and I was going to buy one in the very near future). The beautiful thing about this book was that it was a gift – from the Campanelli and Scholtens families. Now if you have been following this blog for any time you will know that Giovanni and Ezra Campanelli and Caleb, Hannah, and Jonathan Scholtens have been regular junior banders-in-training at Ruthven. Here I’ve been exposing them to banding with the (hidden agenda) understanding that they would be taking over as THE banders in a few years and now they go out and donate a field guide. Oh…..I get it…..they’re just stocking the lab with good stuff for when the do take over……Thanks guys!!!

Weatherwise it was an odd morning – clear, then mostly cloudy, and then clear again. Beautiful day though. Migrants continue to trickle through. There was a really nice mix this morning: 50 species encountered altogether; 11 species of warblers including a Northern Parula, which is uncommon at Ruthven. There was an influx of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds with an unprecedented 3 caught in nets (usually they go right through them). And we had an influx of another winged migrant as well – Monarch Butterflies. I counted 9 in the Butterfly Meadow during a net round.

The dramatic drop in American Goldfinches continues to puzzle and concern. Last Fall we banded ~1,250. So far this Fall we have banded 7.

Banded 31:
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Gray-cheeked Thrushes
3 Swainson’s Thrushes
3 Gray Catbirds
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Tennessee Warbler
2 Nashville Warblers
2 Chestnut-sided Warblers
5 Magnolia Warblers
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
2 Blackpoll Warblers
1 Black & White Warbler
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2 Song Sparrows

Retrapped 7:
3 Gray Catbirds
1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Song Sparrows
1 American Goldfinch

ET’s:  50 species

Rick