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to the McGill Bird Observatory weekly report.
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Comments or
questions are welcome at "mbo AT migrationresearch.org".
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PICTURE
OF THE MONTH: |
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Although we did not band any birds this month due to the cold weather, we continued to
see a number of the previously banded winter residents, including American Tree Sparrows.
(Photo by Simon Duval)
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MBO
gratefully acknowledges the in-kind support provided for winter 2011-2012 by CCFA (Centre de Conservation de la Faune Ailée) in Montreal, in the form of bird seed to keep the MBO feeders stocked throughout the season.
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THIS MONTH |
THIS WINTER |
2012 TOTAL |
SITE TOTAL |
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# birds (and species) banded |
-- |
305 (14) |
-- |
35751 (108) |
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# birds (and species) repeat |
-- |
144 (8) |
-- |
6413 (68) |
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# birds (and species) return |
-- |
21 (4) |
-- |
961 (37) |
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# species observed |
18 |
44 |
18 |
204 |
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# net hours |
-- |
252.0 |
-- |
59099.2 |
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# birds banded / 100 net hours |
-- |
121.0 |
-- |
60.5 |
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Note: table does not include nocturnal banding (owls) |
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Observers: Jean Demers, Gay Gruner, Barbara MacDuff, Clémence Soulard
Notes: As is often the case, January was too cold for any banding at MBO, so results this month are based on just three days of observation. With between 9 and 16 species observed on each of those days, most were our winter "regulars", the one notable exception being a flock of 35 Cedar Waxwings on January 8. However, since we also recorded the species back on November 4, it wasn't a new addition for this winter, and we remain at 44 species for the season with two months to go.
This month’s top 10 [previous month's rank in brackets]
# individuals banded |
mean # individuals observed daily |
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1. European Starling (17) [1] |
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2. Cedar Waxwing (12) [-] |
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3. House Finch (11) [5] |
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4. Slate-colored Junco (9) [9] |
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5. Blue Jay (8) [-] |
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5. American Crow (8) [2] |
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5. Black-capped Chickadee (8) [6] |
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8. American Goldfinch (6) [6] |
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9. American Robin (5) [-] |
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10. Northern Cardinal (4) [-] |
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European Starling remained the most abundant species for another month, but again due to a single large flock, in this case 50 individuals on January 8. Similarly, the flock of 35 Cedar Waxwings on the same day was responsible for that species reaching second place. Most of the month's American Robins (11 out of 14) were seen the same day - the frugivores were traveling together it seems. It was also a particularly good day for Blue Jays though, with an unusually high winter count of 20 individuals.
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Male Northern Cardinals always provide a welcome burst of colour in mid-winter.
(Photo by Simon Duval)
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