Banders & Birders, Again, three days were covered this weekend, with today (Monday) possibly being covered as well, though a rain-out seems likely. Any report received for Monday will be posted with next week's summary. Kinglets were still moving through in numbers on Friday, but tapered off considerably over the weekend. Good numbers of Hermit Thrushes were moving through, and some interesting late birds were captured, including a Blue-headed Vireo which is expected to be late, and a Gray Cabird, which is not. White-throated Sparrows continued to avoid our nets for the most part, until on Sunday we placed a temporary net closer to the beach which gave us some success. Until an unthinking passerby took it upon himself to dismantle our nets and take down the poles, throwing them into a pile of leaf litter and branches under a nearby tree, thus destroying our net. If we attempt this again, we may have to cordon the area off with orange flagging tape to make it more obvious to leave our expensive equipment alone. An American Woodcock was flushed from the area on Saturday and Sunday, but eluded capture.
Friday's highlights included the still good numbers of kinglets, as well as a Hermit Thrush that had gained 6 grams (20%) of its body weight since being banded six days before. On Saturday, the Gray Catbird was our second latest ever (record last year was 16 November). Sunday started out looking like a rain-out, but produced the best results of the weekend with a "misty and drippy" morning with fog most of the rest of the day. The station's third ever Field Sparrow was captured this weekend, and the seaon's first Swamp Sparrows, and second Fox Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, and Eastern Phoebe were captured Sunday. The Blue-headed Vireo was our second latest ever (record in 2001 was on 3 November 2003). Good numbers of Eastern Bluebirds were migrating overhead on Sunday, and a couple came down fairly low in the fog, but we didn't catch any. A total of 97 new birds of 15 species was banded over the three days, plus 11 recaptures. Photo highlights of this weekend will be posted on the HBMO website (www.hbmo.org). Banding Results: Friday, October 31, 2003 6.00 hours from 07:00 - 13:00; 72.00 Net Hours. Temperature was 12-17 Celsius. Sky was mostly cloudy. Wind was SW at 2-7 km/hr. 27 birds of 3 species, plus 7 recaptures. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 22 (plus 3 recaptures) Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 4 Hermit Thrush - 1 (plus 4 recaptures) Banders: Bob Hall-Brooks Saturday, November 1, 2003 8.00 hours from 06:45 - 14:45 E.S.T.; 96.00 Net Hours. Temperature was 13-14 Celsius. Sky was mostly clear to overcast. Wind was variable, NNW-SW-NE at 0-3 km/hr. 27 birds of 8 species, plus 4 recaptures. Carolina Wren - 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 6 Hermit Thrush - 7 (plus 4 recaptures) Gray Catbird - 1 (second latest ever) Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler - 1 White-throated Sparrow - 3 Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco - 3 Banders: Allen Chartier, Bob Hall-Brooks, Carl Pascoe Assistants: Rachel Powless, Cindy Cartwright, Rudy Mulder Sunday, November 2, 2003 8.00 hours from 07:00 - 15:15 E.S.T.; 97.50 Net Hours. Nets were closed for 1/4 hour in morning due to rain. One additional 12-meter net was set up near beach for 1.5 hours. Temperature was 14-20 Celsius. Sky was light misty rain, changing to fog, changing to overcast. Wind was variable, SE-W at 0-3 km/hr. 43 birds of 12 species, no recaptures. Eastern Phoebe - 1 (only second of season - typically more by now) Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5 Hermit Thrush - 11 Blue-headed Vireo - 1 (second latest ever) Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler - 2 Northern Cardinal - 1 American Tree Sparrow - 1 (second of season) Field Sparrow - 1 (third ever for station) Fox Sparrow - 1 (second of season) Swamp Sparrow - 2 (first of season) White-throated Sparrow - 10 Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco - 7 Banders: Allen Chartier, Carl Pascoe Assistants: Rachel Powless, Bob Hall-Brooks, Cindy Cartwright, Rudy Mulder Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) is an organization devoted to monitoring migration at the Holiday Beach Conservation Area, Essex Co., Ontario, administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority. In addition to a hawk-watch/passerine count that has been in operation since 1974, HBMO operates three banding stations, two for raptors (since 1987) and one for passerines and hummingbirds (since 1997). The Holiday Beach Conservation Area was designated an Important Bird Area by Conservation International in 2000. Lat: 42-01'54.1" Long: 083-02'41.6" Website: www.hbmo.org Allen Chartier [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1442 West River Park Drive Inkster, MI 48141 Website: http://www.amazilia.net Michigan HummerNet: http://www.amazilia.net/MIHummerNet/index.htm "Allen Chartier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
