Despite the warbler migration being a bit lean to date, we had an
interesting morning of bird banding at Springbrook Nature Center on
Saturday. Below is a tally of new and recaptured (previously banded at
Springbrook) birds, followed by some notes of interest. We had 48
captures of 20 species.
SPECIES NEW RECAPTURED
Blue-gray gnatcatcher 1
Wilson's warbler 1 male
Nashville warbler 1 female
Common yellowthroat 2 males
Black-capped chickadee 1 3
American goldfinch 1 2
Ovenbird 1
Song sparrow 2
Downy woodpecker 1 3
Brown-headed cowbird 2 f. & 1 m.
Northern cardinal 1 male
Rose-breasted grosbeak 2 f. 1 f. & 2 m.
Red-winged blackbird 5 f. & 2 m. 2 f. & 1 m.
Gray catbird 1
Baltimore oriole 1 f. & 1 m. 1 male
American robin 2
Savannah sparrow 1
White-breasted nuthatch 1
Red-bellied woodpecker 1
Hairy woodpecker 1
GNATCATCHER - This is only the second one we have captured, despite
conducting regular banding sessions at Springbrook since 1987. They
tend to stay too high in the trees for our 10' nets to catch them.
WILSON'S WARBLER - His fat score was 4, on a 0 to 5 scale, so he is
about ready to migrate farther north.
NASHVILLE - Her fat score was 5.
YELLOWTHROAT - While both were males, one had a 0 fat score, while the
other had a 4. Does that mean one was already on his territory while
the other is still migrating? Maybe we'll catch Mr. Zero again this
season and learn part of the answer.
OVENBIRD - This bird had a fat score of 5. Although Springbrook
probably has nesting ovenbirds, this one was still migrating.
R-B GROSBEAK - All three of the recaps were at least 5 years old, and 2
of them had been banded on the same day in 2007! Have these 2 males
been traveling together since then? Years ago I had another case where
2 male R-B Grosbeaks had been banded a week apart at the same location,
then were recaptured 7 years later on the same day. These can't be
coincidences.
R-W BLACKBIRD - These 10 birds very nicely showed the differences
between "second year" and "after second year" birds for both sexes.
Yes, female red-wings acquire red wing patches as they age, too.
B. ORIOLE - The recaptured male was originally banded at Springbrook in
2003 as an ASY bird, meaning it is at least 9 years old this year. We
didn't recapture it during the intervening years. A Springbrook-banded
B. oriole currently holds the longevity record for the species, at 12
years. Its banded leg was found in a St. Paul Peregrine falcon nest.
SAVANNAH SPARROW - A sad story, as this is only the 5th member of this
species ever caught at Springbrook. This bird was tangled in a mist net
very close to a red-wing. The blackbird pecked the sparrow while both
were entangled; the sparrow later died.
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER - These are always a treat to catch, but one's
ears soon tire of the racket they produce. This guy was a three-year
old bird, and this was the 4th time we've captured him.
I can't promise that all the Springbrook banding programs are this
interesting, but if you are considering attending you can review the
2010 schedule at http://www.springbrooknaturecenter.org/bird_banding.cfm
Ron Refsnider
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