McGILL BIRD OBSERVATORY

WINTER BIRD MONITORING PROGRAM 2004-05

During the winter season (November through February), McGill Bird Observatory maintains a set of feeders on the property and monitors the bird population once or twice per week, weather permitting.  Summaries are posted below.  Comments or questions are welcome at mbo@migrationresearch.org

WBMP 2004-05 SEASON TOTALS:

Species banded:

Individuals banded:  

Species observed: Birds / 100 net hours:
10 197* 27 371
  *includes 4 American Robins banded Nov 1  

Click here for information on the Fall 2004 owl banding program
Click here for information on the 2004 Fall Migration Monitoring Program
Click here for information on the 2004 Spring Migration Monitoring Program
Click here for the full archive of banding logs

Saturday December 4, 2004

Bander in charge:  Marcel Gahbauer Banding assistants:  Richard Gregson, Betsy McFarlane, Crissy Ranellucci, Josée Rousseau
Hours:  4.0  (0830-1230) Nets:  4 Net hours:  12.0 Birds banded / 100 net hours:  275
Opening weather: 30% cloud -9C SE (Beaufort 1) no precipitation
Closing weather: 70% cloud -2C SE (Beaufort 1) no precipitation
SPECIES INDIVIDUALS
Observed Census Banded Repeat Return
16 n/a 5 6 0
Banded Repeat Return
33 21 0
NOTES:   The first snow of the winter finally fell yesterday, and though only a couple of centimetres worth, the low level of food in the feeders suggests it has concentrated the birds at our site more than ever.  The number of birds caught today was a bit lower than last time, but the bright sun for part of the morning may have played a role in that.  As was the case last Saturday, the American Goldfinches dominated, with relatively House Finches (which seem to have their claim staked out on Tuesdays!).  

Tuesday November 30, 2004

Bander in charge:  Marcel Gahbauer Banding assistants:  Shawn Craik, Jean Demers, Réjean Gaudreault, Betsy McFarlane, Crissy Ranellucci, Clémence Soulard, Arnaud Tarroux
Hours:  4.0  (0830-1230) Nets:  4 Net hours:  12.0 Birds banded / 100 net hours:  317
Opening weather: 30% cloud -2C E (Beaufort 1) no precipitation
Closing weather: 10% cloud 2C SE (Beaufort 1) no precipitation
SPECIES INDIVIDUALS
Observed Census Banded Repeat Return
16 n/a 6 6 0
Banded Repeat Return
38 21 0
NOTES:   A beautiful morning to be out birding and banding.  The bird volume was a bit lower than the last two times, but still considerable, with almost 20 birds netted per hour.  The usual suspects - House Finch and American Goldfinch dominating, with Black-capped Chickadees close behind, and a few each of Slate-coloured Junco, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, American Tree Sparrow, plus our lone Mourning Dove back for a second visit.  Highlights for the day included two new species for the site: Snow Bunting (a flock of 50 flying high) and Common Redpoll (a small group also passing by overhead).  Hopefully in time both will return to stop down for a visit to our feeders.

Saturday November 27, 2004

Bander in charge:  Marcel Gahbauer Banding assistants:  Shawn Craik, Isabel Julian, Teresa Julian
Hours:  4.5  (0830-1300) Nets:  4 Net hours:  12.0 Birds banded / 100 net hours:  575
Opening weather: 20% cloud -4C E (Beaufort 1) no precipitation
Closing weather: 100% cloud -2C E (Beaufort 2) no precipitation
SPECIES INDIVIDUALS
Observed Census Banded Repeat Return
12 n/a 9 4 0
Banded Repeat Return
69 15 0
NOTES:   This morning we expected to recapture many of the birds banded earlier in the week, but that turned out not to be the case.  Aside from some of our regular chickadees, the only returnees were a couple of American Goldfinches and Slate-coloured Juncos.  The real story of the day was the influx of 'new' goldfinches - 48 in total!  What a great clinic in age/sex variation within a species.  Another 7 House Finches were banded too, plus smaller numbers of Slate-coloured Junco, American Tree Sparrow, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow, and Black-capped Chickadee.  The highlight was a male Mourning Dove, our 50th species banded this year.

Monday November 22, 2004

Bander in charge:  Marcel Gahbauer Banding assistants:  Shawn Craik, Réjean Gaudreault, Gay Gruner, Betsy McFarlane, Crissy Ranellucci
Hours:  5.0  (0900-1400) Nets:  4 Net hours:  16.0 Birds banded / 100 net hours:  331
Opening weather: 90% cloud 2C E (Beaufort 1) no precipitation
Closing weather: 60% cloud 6C - no precipitation
SPECIES INDIVIDUALS
Observed Census Banded Repeat Return
16 n/a 6 2 0
Banded Repeat Return
53 14 0
NOTES:   After a three-week break since the end of our first Fall Migration Monitoring Program, our winter session got off to a great start today!  Four feeders, offering cracked corn, black oil sunflower, and nyjer seed, have been filled regularly since the start of November, and a steady clientele has built up.  All the same, we were surprised at how rapidly we started catching birds once the nets were opened today.  After banding just a single House Finch throughout the fall, we suddenly became much more familiar with them today, handling a full two dozen.  American Goldfinches were also represented with 18, and there were equally many Black-capped Chickadees, although most were old friends from earlier in the fall.  Also one new species added to our banding list today ... House Sparrow, at last!  

 

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