Foggy sunrise over the meadow.
Wow! It seems like we just got started with the Fall migration and here we are at the end of September already. Hard to believe actually. We banded 891 birds this month – the 5th highest total in our 20 years of Fall banding. But October is the big month in terms of numbers. It will be interesting to see what it brings. Our grape and berry crop is mediocre so I’m not predicting record numbers. But that doesn’t matter….October is simply fun, with lots of birds to handle.
A couple of notes:
The Great Egret that we saw yesterday sporting blue wing tags was banded in June of this year on Nottawasaga Island near Collingwood. Great Egrets are expanding their range (and numbers) in Ontario. [Thanks to Chip Weseloh for providing this information.]
Mourning Warbler.
This morning we caught a Mourning Warbler with a fat load of ‘5’ (out of a possible 6) and a weight of 16.1 g. It’s got enough fuel for a long flight.
A Common Grackle missing its left leg – the result of some unknown attack.
Yesterday we caught a Common Grackle that was missing its left tarsus and foot. It was an old injury and the bird seemed quite healthy otherwise. Other birds that we’ve seen with just one leg include Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, and Brown-headed Cowbird. All seemed to be getting by quite successfully.
We saw the first White-crowned Sparrow of the season this morning – a bright adult.
Carol’s muffins – just like these – won first prize at the Ancaster Fair. She attributes all her success to the feedback from the banding lab.
The 29th was clear and hot. We banded 22:
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 American Robin
1 Gray Catbird
1 Cedar Waxwing (the 1st juvenile we’ve seen)
1 Scarlet Tanager
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
3 Song Sparrows
7 White-throated Sparrows
1 House Finch
2 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 39 spp.
This morning, the 30th, we banded just 5 birds before the rain forced us to close.
1 Blue Jay
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Mourning Warbler
1 Song Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow
ET’s: 32 spp.
Rick