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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.
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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 |
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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
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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 |
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| 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!).
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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 |
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| 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.
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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 |
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| 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.
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| 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 |
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| 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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