Banders & Birders, Three days were covered this week, rather than our usual weekend efforts. The additional coverage came in the form of a single 12-meter net, operated for a single hour, in a nonstandard locale by Master Bander Phil Roberts for the purpose of a banding demonstration for a local school group. The 5 birds captured in this single hour not only provided the highest birds/100 net hours rate we've ever had (500), but included a record late date for two of the five birds! The American Redstart banded that day was truly late, while the Common Yellowthroat was the latest ever for our station, but was not particularly late for the region.
The highlight of Saturday's relatively slow day (38 birds) came on the first net run, the first bird, with our third ever Whip-poor-will for the station. This was also the latest Whip-poor-will we've ever banded, and is about equivalent to the latest sight record in the park. By 11:00 a.m. we had only captured 11 birds, which included single Nashville, Orange-crowned, and Blackpoll Warblers. Then, a flock of kinglets passed through and more than tripled the day's catch in two net runs. Sunday showed promise, as there were overnight north winds favorable for nocturnal passerine migration, and the winds held into the middle of the day. North winds have been very rare at our site this fall, so we had high hopes. The fact that only 4 birds were banded is thus quite puzzling. The Dark-eyed Junco we caught today was our third so far this season, right on schedule, but we've only banded 5 White-throated Sparrows so far. Where are they? A couple Monarch Butterflies were seen on Saturday, and several (some catch-able) were in the area on Sunday. Unfortunately, we did not have our tags with us this weekend. A few Red Admirals and a couple Question Marks were also in the area. A single Black Saddlebags on Sunday was the only dragonfly noted. Photo highlights of this weekend, essentially only the Whip-poor-will photos, are posted on the HBMO website (www.hbmo.org). Select 2003 Passerine Banding and go to the bottom of page 8 and page 9. Banding Results: Thursday, October 16, 2003 1.00 hours from 10:00 - 11:00 E.S.T(?), 1.00 Net Hours. A non-standard effort day, as Phil Roberts opened a single net for demonstration purposes. Temperature was 18 Celsius. Sky was mostly cloudy. Wind was NW at 3-5 km/hr. 5 birds of 4 species. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2 American Redstart - 1 (record late) Common Yellowthroat - 1 (record late) Banders: Phil Roberts Saturday, October 18, 2003 8.50 hours from 05:30 - 14:00 E.S.T., 102.00 Net Hours (Russell Trap not opened today, no hummingbirds seen). Temperature was 8-15 Celsius. Sky was mostly cloudy. Wind was SW at 1-7 km/hr. 38 birds of 9 species. Whip-poor-will - 1 (third ever for station) Blue Jay - 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 17 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11 Hermit Thrush - 2 Orange-crowned Warbler - 1 Nashville Warbler - 1 Blackpoll Warbler - 1 (late) Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco - 1 Banders: Allen Chartier, Bob Hall-Brooks Sunday, October 19, 2003 7.00 hours from 05:30 - 12:30 E.S.T., 105.00 Net Hours (Russell Trap not opened today, no hummingbirds seen. Three additional nets used for owl banding at night, for a total of 15, were kept open in the hopes of catching Blue Jays which often drop into the area early in the morning. 1.5 hours of owl banding effort from 04:30 - 06:00 E.S.T. resulted in 0 owls banded.). Temperature was 5-16 Celsius. Sky was clear to partly cloudy. Wind was NNW-SW at 1-5 km/hr. 4 birds of 4 species, plus 2 recaptures. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 White-throated Sparrow - 1 Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco - 1 Banders: Allen Chartier Assistants: Bob Hall-Brooks 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.
