Week 13: A Conclusion of Kinglets

In the words of A.A. Milne: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard". 

This sentiment hit home as I write this last blog and reflect on the incredible season of Migration Monitoring that has now come to a close. This week saw many remarks on how quick the season seemed to fly by. As bittersweet as the wrap-up may be, we can rejoice in the fact that migration is still underway, and it's a great time to get out birding! A heartfelt thank you to all who make this work possible (and so enjoyable). Now, on to the birds!

Pedder Bay's final bird for 2024 - a Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Evan Lewis)

Pedder Bay station wrapped up the week with 258 birds banded, bringing the season total to 2819! Unfortunately, when compared to the historical average of 3147, this places 2024 as the third lowest season. This also represents one of only five seasons which haven't surpassed 3000 birds banded. 

This week, 25% of the birds banded at Pedder Bay were Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and they comprised a third of the station's season total for this species. It's interesting to note that this week also had the busiest day of the season for Pedder Bay. 

Pedder is Red-der? Season Banding Totals (Evan Lewis) 

A recap Anna's Hummingbird originally banded at
Pedder Bay in July ... thanks for coming back! (Emma Radziul)

Rocky Point station banded 317 new birds this week, for a season total of 4051! This year-end total ushers the season into the 4th highest spot (historical average being 3296). A strange trend occurred this year, where Rocky Point had both the earliest, and latest, 100-bird days in the 30-year history of RPBO operations. In addition, those were the only two days with over 100 banded birds! 

This week, on the penultimate day of migration monitoring, the first of the year Varied Thrush was finally banded. Both stations have enjoyed hearing and seeing this species over the last month, but it was a treat to finally find one in the nets at Rocky. As with Pedder Bay, Ruby-crowned Kinglets made up a large percentage of birds banded this week (137 individuals!). 

RP's final bird of the season - an American Robin (David Bell)

Varied Thrush! (Emma Radziul)

Closing day crew at Rocky Point, including Ann who took the photo! (Ann Nightingale)

As Ruby-crowned Kinglets were our top banded bird this week, it seems fitting to give them the spotlight for a moment. These tiny birds are often overlooked as they flit through branches and shrubs, feeding on small spiders and insects. When we are banding this species, we look to their tail shape to help determine age. A pointed, "sharp" tail likely points to a young bird, whereas an adult (or "after hatch-year") would have blunt ends to its tail feathers. As with most things, a grey area exists, and other factors will be considered to help identify the bird's age. 

Comparing rectrices (tail feathers) in two Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Tamara Wolowicz)

A variety of shades have been noted in the crowns of several RCKI (Evan Lewis)

Bird #4000 at RP! Golden-crowned Kinglet (David Bell)

Beautiful Pedder Bay (Evan Lewis)

Pacific Wren #100 at Rocky Point (Mara Hanneson)

Banded Totals (click to enlarge)

Rocky Point sunrise - what a sight to behold! (David Bell)

Week 12: Frolic in the Meadow

With the start of rainy season upon us and cooler temperatures in the mornings, the last neotropical stragglers are coming through the stations and the late-season birds are moving in, providing us some exciting days of migration!

With the rains north of us finally abating, we had a good push of migrants mid-week, giving us a few busy days in a row at the stations. Our weekly totals ended up at 350 new bands for Rocky Point and 314 for Pedder Bay, with Ruby-crowned Kinglet (107), Dark-eyed Junco (96), and Fox Sparrow (85) topping the charts. Some late stragglers banded this week included Western and Hammond's flycatchers, Yellow and MacGillivray's warblers, a Chipping Sparrow, and a few Swainson's Thrushes; all of these species are typically well south of us by this point in the season! Our big highlight this week in the nets came on October 9th, when a Western Meadowlark went into net 2 at Rocky Point, giving us a first banding record for RPBO! This also happened to be our first meadowlark of the season seen at the stations. Check out the intricate patterns and colours on this female!

Western Meadowlark (David Bell)

Western Meadowlark (David Bell)

Both stations caught a "Red" Fox Sparrow on the same day this week (David Bell)

White-throated Sparrows haven't been around in the numbers we've gotten used to over the last few years...yet (Mara Hanneson)

A feisty young Sharp-shinned Hawk, possibly from the Haida Gwaii population due to the streaked undertail coverts? (David Bell)

Our oldest bird award this week was a two-way tie, with Pedder Bay catching a Spotted Towhee originally banded on 26 August 2019, and Rocky Point catching a Song Sparrow banded on 14 August 2019. Both birds were originally banded as hatch-years, making them five years old now! Sparrow season is always exciting for these old recaptures, as individuals often pick the same wintering location year after year, and we had several recap sparrows from previous years this week besides those two. 

Marsh Wren - always a fun bird to see up close (David Bell)

With some late stragglers around during the big push of birds this week, we had a good diversity of species at the stations, even reaching the 100-species mark at Rocky Point once or twice. New species for the season included Lesser Scaup, Snow Goose, and Ring-necked Duck at Rocky Point and Wilson's Snipe at Pedder Bay. Visible migration (vismig for short) this week was also great, with several mornings having thousands of American Robins flying over at Rocky Point, along with good numbers of Varied Thrushes, finches, blackbirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Raptor migration is still going strong, with kettles of Turkey Vultures evident this week, and a late Broad-winged Hawk seen at Rocky Point. Waterbird migration is also going strong, with numbers and diversity of ducks, loons, alcids, and gulls picking up during seawatch, along with the ongoing incursion of Short-tailed Shearwaters putting some mornings into quadruple-digits for this species. A highlight during all this bird movement was a Pygmy Nuthatch seen by Pier at Rocky Point on the 11th; it has yet to be refound but we are hoping it will make its way into a net at some point this week!

This Sandhill Crane has been hanging around at Rocky Point for a couple of weeks now! (David Bell)

As always, the wildlife at the stations provides entertainment when the birds aren't enough, as the local Black Bears fatten up for winter, numerous Humpback Whales forage in the strait, the Black-tailed Deer are going into their fall rut, the Pacific Chorus Frogs provide ambiance on rainy days, and various insects keep us occupied with attempting to identify them. A huge burst of the aurora borealis this week was also enjoyed by our owl banders, and by a few of us who are fortunate enough to live in places with dark-ish skies!

A Black Bear chowing down on apples at Rocky Point (David Bell)

 

Auroras over Rocky Point (Mark Byrne)

Once again, a big thank-you to our volunteers! Your efforts and dedication are much appreciated. There are still a few empty slots available for this week - get out there and enjoy the last few days of the season!

Our daily and weekly totals for the stations are below:

Pedder Bay	6 Oct	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	Total
Banded	48	26	22	71	76	42	29	314
Species banded	13	9	8	13	13	16	9	25
Recap	5	7	11	9	9	13	11	65
Species recap	4	5	6	6	6	9	7	16

Rocky Point	6 Oct	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	Total
Banded	40	37	14	78	79	70	32	350
Species banded	14	12	8	17	15	17	12	35
Recap	17	7	7	7	8	11	5	62
Species recap	9	6	5	7	6	5	5	17

A rare find in the nets at Rocky Point; although we don't band California Quail, they are always neat to see up close. (David Bell)

Week 12 totals (right click and open in new tab to view large)

Week 11: Cool Mornings and Busy Nets

The days this week began with cool, damp mornings, where dewy spider webs shined in the early light, followed by warm sun in the early afternoons. The season is winding down, and the later migrants, like kinglets and sparrows, are filling the nets. Flycatchers and Warblers, however, are becoming increasingly rare. Overhead, the skies have been full of Turkey Vultures and other hawks, while the calls of geese—Cackling, Canada, and Greater White-fronted—echo as they fly overhead. Robins and Band-tailed Pigeons fly between the trees near the stations.

Gaelin and Mara looking east towards Rocky Point from Church Hill (David Bell)

This week, our Rocky Point station had to close early from October 1st to 3rd due to ammunition testing in the area. While the closures were unfortunate, they provided a unique opportunity to visit Church Hill, about 3 km west of our Rocky Point banding station, for a hawk watch. From this high vantage point, we witnessed impressive kettles of Turkey Vultures—up to 960 at one point—along with Band-tailed Pigeons and various raptors, including Peregrine Falcons, Sharp-shinned, Coopers and Red-tailed Hawks. It was a remarkable experience, with Turkey Vultures and Band-tailed Pigeons flying within meters of us, both above and below. Other highlights of the excursion included spotting several Western Gulls and around 1,500 Short-tailed Shearwaters in offshore waters. 

At Pedder Bay station, we banded 275 new birds this week, bringing the season total to 2,247. Dark-eyed Juncos were the most frequently banded species, with 53 new individuals.

An Oregon Dark-eyed Junco (Gaelin Armstrong)

A less common Slate/Cismonatus Dark-eyed Junco (Gaelin Armstrong)

Rocky Point station banded 270 new birds this week, raising the season total to 3,384. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the top species, with 72 new birds banded, meaning they made up about a quarter of all captures at Rocky Point this week!

An adorable female Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Gaelin Armstrong)

Notable captures at Rocky Point include a Northern Saw-whet Owl on the morning of September 30th, which decided to take a nap after we banded it! We also banded a hatch-year female Sharp-shinned Hawk.

HY Northern Saw-whet owl - The epitome of cute(Gaelin Armstrong)

At Pedder Bay, the highlights were a couple of woodpeckers—a stunning Red-breasted Sapsucker and a noisy hatch-year female Red-shafted Northern Flicker. 

Red-breasted Sapsucker (Emma Radziul)

American Robins have also been showing up in large numbers, with a few gracing our nets, which has been a treat.

American Robin (Emma Radziul)

Other memorable birds this week include Hammonds Flycatchers and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle ssp) (David Bell)

Dark centers in upper tail coverts means this bird is male (David Bell)

Hammond's Flycatcher (Emma Radziul)

This internship marks my first experience with bird banding or any ornithological fieldwork. Though the learning curve was steep, and there was an overwhelming amount of information to absorb, I’ve loved every minute of it. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be the fall intern at Rocky Point Bird Observatory. These past six weeks have been an amazing experience, and I’ve learned so much about bird banding and what it takes to operate a migratory bird banding station.

A special thanks to the other banders—David, Evan, Mara, and Emma—for their patience and support throughout my internship. And, of course to all the volunteers whose dedication and passion make Rocky Point such a remarkable place and passion keeps this work going.

 A handsome after-hatch-year male Yellow Warbler (Gaelin Armstrong)

Week 11 and season totals

Week 10: Kinglets (and leaves) fill the nets

With the Fall Equinox falling on the first day of Week 10 this year, the autumn feeling has certainly settled in at the stations. Fog blanketed both stations in the early mornings this week, and the Turkey Vultures have been riding the afternoon thermals. Warbler migration has slowed down and the Kinglets have arrived in earnest, bringing many falling leaves with them!  

A foggy morning at Rocky Point (Mara Hanneson)

This week Rocky Point banded 343 new birds, bringing the season total to 3114. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were far and away the most banded bird this week, with 61 new birds banded. Purple Finch was next, with 31 new bands, and Spotted Towhee rounded out the top three with 29 new bands. Bird #3000 for Rocky Point was a Yellow Warbler, and funnily enough, back in Week 7 a Yellow Warbler was also the 2000th bird for Rocky Point. A lucky species!

Bird #3000 for Rocky Point (Gaelin Armstrong)

Pedder Bay wasn't too far behind Rocky Point this week, banding 267 new birds, bringing the season total to 1972. Ruby-crowned Kinglet was the most banded bird at Pedder as well, with 36 new birds banded. Fox Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) tied for second, with 28 new bands each, and Spotted Towhee came in third with 25 new bands. An honourable mention goes out to Golden-crowned Kinglets, with 9 banded at Rocky Point and 23 banded at Pedder Bay. Together with the Ruby-crowned Kinglets,  over 20% of our new birds this week were Kinglets!

Usually recapture of the week goes to the oldest bird, but this week we had a particularly interesting recapture. This Anna's Hummingbird was banded as an after-hatch-year in 2021, making it at least 4 years old! Multi-year recaptures of any hummingbird are rare for the migration monitoring project, and one this old is particularly special. The oldest recapture of the week was a Purple Finch banded as a hatch year in 2019, making it 5 years old. 

An after-hatch-year recaptured male Anna's Hummingbird. This individual was at least 4 years old! (David Bell)

Another indicator of fall around the stations is the influx of sparrows. The stations have been banding plenty of Golden-crowned Sparrows and Fox Sparrows, but Week 10 had a new arrival at both stations, White-Throated Sparrows! These boreal breeding birds are one of our latest season arrivals, and always a treat when they hit the stations.

A nicely plumaged White-throated Sparrow. (David Bell)

Further highlights at the stations this week were an after-hatch-year female Red-winged Blackbird, and two Marsh Wrens. Both of these marsh-dwelling birds are often heard around the ponds at Rocky Point, but are seldom caught. The brown streaky plumage of the Red-winged Blackbird indicates this bird is a female, and the red shoulder suggests that it is likely an after-second-year bird, but we can't know for sure!

An after-hatch-year female Red-winged Blackbird (Evan Lewis) 

The bird activity outside of the net lanes has also been great this week! An incredible push of Shearwaters into the strait has been entertaining us all, and getting lots of people out on boats after the nets close. The majority of the individuals seem to be Short-tailed Shearwaters, a more infrequent species in the strait. the more expected Sooty Shearwaters are in the mix as well, and a couple of Pink-footed Shearwaters have been spotted from shore during seawatch at Rocky Point. 

Equally as entertaining has been the beginnings of the Turkey Vulture kettles in the afternoons, with a high count of approximately 800 individuals so far this season. As always, there have been plenty of hawks mixed in as well. Good numbers of Red-tailed Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and Cooper's Hawks are a daily sight soaring with the Turkey Vultures. Additionally, this year seems to be a particularly good one for Broad-winged Hawks. They have been seen in the kettles almost daily, with a single high count so far of 7 individuals. 

It hasn't been all fog this week! A beautiful sunrise over the Pedder Bay hill. (David Bell)

The season is beginning to wind down, but the busiest days are likely still to come. We appreciate all the work our volunteers have put in, and we look forward to seeing you out there for the last few weeks of migration monitoring. 

The week by the numbers!

Week 9: Nashville in Autumn?

 Week 9 already...now, how is that possible!? Although it may feel like the season has just begun, there is no denying that change is in the air. Morning temperatures have started to creep into single digits, the leaves are falling (creating much extra extraction work), and the updates from the Nocturnal Owl Monitoring team are rolling in. It's an exciting time to be out at the stations - the crisp air ripe with anticipation for what we may encounter next!

A beautiful sunrise, suggesting that "Pedder is Better" (David Bell)

In terms of species variation and banding totals, Week 9 continued as expected, showing significant variation between the two stations. Rocky Point banded 383 birds, rounding out the station's current season total to 2839 individuals. The top captures there this week were Savannah Sparrow (41), Orange-crowned Warbler (34), and Lincoln's Sparrow (33). Pedder Bay banded a total of 335 birds, with Hermit Thrush (43), Fox Sparrow (40), and Ruby-crowned Kinglet (35) leading the charge. These totals brought Pedder Bay station to a season total of 1752 birds banded.

Both stations banded first of the year
Gambel's White-crowned Sparrows (Emma Radziul)

Savannah Sparrow (Mara Hanneson)

This season has proven to be a success for Purple Finch, with both stations breaking historical records for the number of individuals banded. Pedder Bay broke its record earlier in the season, and this week saw Rocky Point join in the excitement - banding 29 Purple Finch this week, for a season total of 96 (beating out the 2018 high of 81).

After Hatch-Year Male Purple Finch (David Bell)

Bushtit (Emma Radziul)

On Friday, Pedder Bay was treated to an exciting bird in the nets. For this species, this was only the fourth banding record for Pedder Bay, and 18th for the migration monitoring program. This medium-sized warbler sported a thin pointed bill, grey head and upper parts, and dull yellow breast and flanks. If you are still guessing, I should mention that it also had a white eye-ring. It was a Nashville warbler! This individual was a hatch-year Female - determined by her dull plumage, lack of crown patch, and sharp tail feathers.

Nashville Warbler! (Evan Lewis)

The sharp tail feathers helped to age this bird as a HY (Evan Lewis)

Friday also marked excitement in the nets at Rocky Point, in the form of a Cooper's Hawk. This individual arrived at the perfect time to celebrate Storm's birthday!

Storm preparing to release her first Cooper's Hawk (David Bell)

This is a blog dedicated to the migration monitoring program at RPBO. However, I would be remiss if I neglected to mention the other monitoring program running until October 31st at both Pedder Bay and Rocky Point...Nocturnal Owl Migration Monitoring! The team has had an exciting first week of banding Northern Saw-whet owls (with a couple appearances from other species, but I'll let them share those stories!). If you are interested in visiting, please book a spot here. 

Northern Saw-whet Owl in Juvenile plumage (Ann Nightingale)

The same individual - a treat for all (Jannaca Chick)

As always, a heartfelt thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers who make this project possible! It is such a treat to share our mornings with such enthusiastic, interesting, and hard-working people. It is an exciting time to be out enjoying migration, and there are still open spaces on the schedule for those looking to pick up a shift.

Week 9 and Season Totals - Click to Enlarge

Early morning Geese at Rocky Point (Mara Hanneson)