Banders-in-charge:
Marcel Gahbauer, Marie-Anne Hudson, Barbara Frei
Assistants: Lise Amarasakera, Lina Bardo, Jean Beaudreault,
Christine Bedra, Susan Black, Shawn Craik, Jean Demers, Cheryl Diamond,
Christina Donehower, Manon Dubé, Gay Gruner, Patrick-Jean Guay, Isabel
Julian, Irène Lepine, Barbara Macduff, Don Macduff, Francine Marcoux, Betsy Mcfarlane,
Chris Murphy, Limoilou Renaud, Katleen Robert, Clémence
Soulard
Notes:
We have now had prevailing north winds for nearly three weeks, and
as a result migration has been reduced to a trickle. We did add
another 9 species to the season list over the past week, including 6 on
Sunday alone, but generally we have been seeing only a few solitary
"advance scouts" rather than actual flocks of migrants. This
week's newcomers were American Wigeon (MBO's first ever, a pair in the
back pond), Black-crowned Night Heron,
American Pipit, Brown Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Pine
Warbler (another first ever for MBO), Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Purple Finch.
We know from reports not far to the south that many more warblers are
likely to arrive with the next south winds, and we are eagerly
anticipating them.
Without question, it was
a week dominated by blackbirds and sparrows. Red-winged Blackbirds
alone accounted for nearly 45% of the birds banded. This coincided
with a noticeable increase in their numbers this week, as females began
arriving in good numbers. Among them was one that we banded here
in May 2004. Meanwhile, male grackles have arrived in bulk, but we
have yet to observe any females. Ruby-crowned Kinglets and
White-throated Sparrows have also been gradually increasing, while the
daily Canada Goose and Ring-billed Gull flights, although still
considerable, are tapering off. We are probably seeing our last
few Fox Sparrows these days, and it appears the American Tree Sparrows
have already all departed.
On the whole, it felt
like a very quiet week. The number of birds banded remained
virtually static from last week, and the number of species observed over
the course of the week increased by only three, a small increment in
mid-spring. However, flora and other fauna are becoming much more
prominent even if the birds aren't at the moment. Butterflies
observed this week include Cabbage White, Black Swallowtail, and a
fleeting glimpse of a probable Eastern Comma. Meanwhile, the sugar
maples have sprouted their leaves, and several flowers including trout
lily and bloodroot have started to bloom.
This week's top 10 [last week's rank in
brackets]
|
# individuals banded |
mean # individuals
observed daily |
|
Red-winged Blackbird (35)
[1] |
Canada Goose (541)
[1] |
|
Slate-coloured Junco (14)
[3] |
Red-winged Blackbird (79)
[3] |
|
Common Grackle (9)
[-] |
American Crow (37)
[4] |
|
White-throated Sparrow (4)
[5] |
Ring-billed Gull (35)
[2] |
|
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3)
[2] |
Slate-coloured Junco (25)
[5] |
|
House Sparrow (3)
[-] |
Mallard (20)
[7] |
|
American Goldfinch (2)
[6] |
Common Grackle (19)
[-] |
|
American Robin (2)
[7] |
Northern Pintail (17)
[10] |
|
Swamp Sparrow (2)
[7] |
Tree Swallow (16)
[-] |
|
Four species tied at 1 each |
Song Sparrow (15)
[8] |
|
|
-
This female
Red-winged Blackbird, recaptured this week, was one of the very
first birds banded at MBO when we tested out nets in early May
2004. She was an after-second-year bird at that time,
which means that she is now at least 4 years old.
(Photo by Marie-Anne Hudson)
|
