Week 6 – When Fog Clears, The Birds Appear

25-31 August 2025

One of the two Say’s Phoebes seen at the back ponds at Rocky Point (Mark Byrne)

Fall migration is gaining momentum! Leaves are beginning to fall into the nets, but they aren’t the only things being caught. Warblers, sparrows, and flycatchers were plentiful this week, marking a noticeable uptick in migration as we pass the halfway point of the season. Foggy mornings were the theme at both stations. Volunteers were kept busy with extensive training in extractions and net setup. The majority of birds processed this week were new captures, with fewer recaptures than earlier in the season—a clear sign that fresh migrants are moving through. 

Rocky Point 

It was a busy week at the Rocky Point station, with 351 new birds banded and 81 recaptures processed. 

The top five species banded were: 

* White-crowned Sparrow (59) 

* Yellow Warbler (39)

* Orange-crowned Warbler (26)

* Lincoln’s Sparrow and Western Flycatcher (21 each)

Banding highlights from this week were the first of season Northern Waterthrush, Barred Owl (x2!), Fox Sparrow and Savannah Sparrow, a Black-throated Gray Warbler, and a Red-breasted Sapsucker.

Max evaluating the age of a Barred Owl (it was a hatch year!) (Adam Ross)

The first of the year and soon to be one of many - Fox Sparrow (Max Hellicar)

This week at our Rocky Point station, we had foggy mornings, which made sea watching tricky, but once the fog cleared, there were many interesting birds to see, such as: Surfbird, Greater Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper and Wilson’s Snipe were all seen or heard, along with “peeps”—Least and Western Sandpipers—feeding in the front bay. Other interesting observations included: Brown Pelican, the first Golden-crowned Sparrow of the season, and, perhaps the most exciting, were two Say’s Phoebes, found by Jannaca at the back ponds. Other nice additions included Sora, Virginia Rail, and Vaux’s Swifts. Goldfinches were also plentiful, their calls carrying overhead throughout the week. Gull numbers were steady along the water, with mostly California, Glaucous-winged, and Olympic Gulls, but with the odd Heermann’s, Short-billed, and even a single Western Gull.

This bull Roosevelt Elk also put in an appearance at Rocky Point this week! (Max Hellicar)

Pedder Bay 

The Pedder Bay station was much slower this week, with 160 new birds banded and 57 recaptures processed. The top five species banded were: 

* Swainson’s Thrush (22)

* Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow (18) 

* Wilson’s Warbler (11) 

* Lincoln’s Sparrow (10) 

* Song Sparrow (10) 

Some banding highlights from Pedder Bay this week were: Northern Waterthrush, Cassin’s Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Hammond’s Flycatcher and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

One of two Northern Waterthrushes banded between our two stations this week (Max Hellicar) 

An average of 1.8 Cassin's Vireos are caught per season at Pedder Bay (2012-2024) (Mara Hanneson)

An Orange-crowned Warbler with an unusual colouration to the primaries (Gaelin Armstrong)

Juncos have started to trickle back - just a few in the nets so far, but they’re showing up more often around the station. Swainson’s Thrushes were heard calling in the early mornings, and the fields have been full of hatch year White-crowned Sparrows eating Himalayan Blackberries. Overhead, swallows and martins continue to pass through, though in much smaller numbers than earlier in the season; a clear sign they’re on their way south. Turkey Vultures are slowly building in number, and both American Kestrel and Merlin made appearances during the week. An exciting observation this week was a rarity found by Adam Ross - a Clay-colored Sparrow; a grassland sparrow normally only found as far west as the Okanagan.

It’s always a pleasure to see our logo bird – the Black-throated Grey Warbler (Max Hellicar)

Mara and Max discussing the age and sex of a hatch year male Black-throated Grey Warbler (Jannaca Chick)

With migration ramping up, the next few weeks promise even more diversity in the nets. Thank you to all the volunteers who dedicated their time and energy this week. The leaves may be falling, but the season’s excitement is just beginning.

Week 5: An Arrival of Phoebes

18-24 August 2025

   Sunrise at Rocky Point (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

                    

With another week at Pedder Bay and Rocky Point, migration is heating up with new migrants coming in! Migrating from Colorado our new bander Megan has arrived for the rest of the season.

Seemingly, this week, many migrants began to move into the area, as well as fledglings of seabirds starting to make an appearance. Black-throated Grey Warblers started to show up at both stations along with other new migrants, such as the grey-headed Orange-crowned Warblers, Lincoln's Sparrows, a Golden-crowned Kinglet and our first Northern Saw-whet Owl of the season! The first cycle juvenile birds aren't done yet, with a few very young birds that haven't begun going into formative plumage being seen at the stations.

Banding

This week the team at Pedder Bay processed 171 new birds and 52 recaptures.

The top 5 most banded species for this week there were:

• White-crowned Sparrow (Puget Sound) - 36
• Swainson's Thrush - 21
• Common Yellowthroat - 14
• Wilson's Warbler  -13
• Spotted Towhee - 9
• MacGillivray's Warbler - 9

The Townsend's Warblers are starting to be on the move with this one visiting our station this week (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

This week saw the arrival of the grey-headed Orange-crowned Warblers coming in as migrants, in addition to our breeding population of more extensively yellow lutescens Orange-crowned Warblers. (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

Hutton's Vireo; one of the few birds that seems bigger in the hand than in the field (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

Season-to-date banding totals from Pedder Bay

This week the team at Rocky Point new processed 301 new birds and 73 recaptures.

The top 5 most banded species for this week there were:

• American Goldfinch - 46
• Common Yellowthroat - 33
• Wilson's Warbler - 33
• White-crowned Sparrow (Puget Sound) - 30
• Western Flycatcher - 29

Black-throated Grey Warbler: one of the first of the season and it's always nice to see our logo bird visit the stations (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

                    The first Northern Saw-whet Owl: ahead of schedule, showing up before the owl season starts to remind people to be ready to sign up for the owl monitoring project (photo: Max Hellicar)

Season-to-date banding totals from Rocky Point (not sure who skipped ahead to 34th August!)

In the field

Rarities included two Black-type Phoebes (potentially Black x Eastern Phoebe hybrids) and six Sabine's Gulls at Rocky Point. Large numbers of newly fledged Glaucous-winged Gulls and Olympic Gulls (Glaucous-winged x Western Gull hybrids) have begun to disperse into our two monitoring sites and can be seen trailing their parents while learning how to be a gull. These young gulls can stay with their family until around next season's nesting. Our Red-tailed Hawk at Pedder Bay continues to overlook the estuary, looking for fish and often begging, but is now seen less with the Bald Eagles. Common Murre families can be now heard calling from the water more often. Swallow numbers have been quite good for banding this week, catching a few at the start of the week and now it appears that they are starting to move through, with a number of many species seeming to disperse out of the area. 

Black-type Phoebe at Rocky Point: initially there was one seen briefly at the dock, then on the next day there were two phoebes spotted on census (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

                  

Two Barred Owls have been lurking around net 5 at Rocky Point and, so far, avoiding capture! (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

Flycatchers like this Western Flycatcher are currently moving through the area, with numbers fluctuating greatly between censuses each day. (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

Northern Red-legged Frogs can be heard in the mornings on most days (photo: Andrew Jacobs)

Finally, as always, it's good to have the banding team in shape and ready for any activities to come! We had a volleyball and gymnastics session after banding one of the days this week.

Week 4 - Liquid Sunshine

11-17 August

What a week of changeable weather! Initially, we were met with high temperatures. By mid-week, strong winds were blowing. And on Friday and Saturday, the rain, which had been looming in the forecast, was upon us (18mm on Friday). The wind and rain resulted in some net closures at both Pedder Bay (PB) and Rocky Point (RP) stations, but we continued our banding operations as per our protocol. This week we also welcomed Gaelin Armstrong to the banding team. Many of you will remember Gaelin as one of our interns last year. Welcome back to RPBO, Gaelin!

Pedder Bay:

At Pedder Bay this week, we banded 73 birds and processed 35 recaptures. These numbers are considerably lower than in the previous three weeks of banding. However, given the time of year, this is not out of the ordinary. 

A notable species banded this week was a Hammond's Flycatcher; a first of the season at Pedder Bay. Its gray head, eye ring, long primary projection and wing morphology helped identify this Empidonax flycatcher. Hammond's Flycatchers prefer mountainous habitat and are migrating to Central America for the winter. Unlike Western Flycatchers, which are banded in higher numbers at our stations, juvenile Hammond’s Flycatchers will begin their preformative molt on their summer grounds. This was evident in the first-year individual banded. 

Pleasing recaptures this week included a Chestnut-backed Chickadee originally banded in 2024, and a Bewick’s Wren from 2024. The Bewick’s Wren recapture was a wonderful example of an adult undergoing its prebasic molt (photo below). Shortly after examining it, we banded a first-year Bewick’s Wren, which allowed for a great comparison. As it happened, one of our volunteers was making field notes about wrens at the time, so the birds had arrived at just the right moment. As the banding season progresses, wrens become increasingly difficult to age by plumage alone. I like to think of them as tiny, wriggly masters of deception. 

Field notes by Sultana Majid 

AHY recap Bewick's Wren (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

AHY recap Bewick's Wren undergoing prebasic molt (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

The top five species banded at PB this past week were White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis), Spotted Towhee, Western Flycatcher, Bewick's Wren and Purple Finch.

Other notable avian observations from the station were a continuing high number of hirundines, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Northern Waterthrush and an Osprey. Through no fault of its own, the Osprey seemed to cause much distress to the resident Belted Kingfishers on more than one occasion. A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk has been heard calling most mornings since banding commenced, and on one occasion it lured a curious volunteer (you may know her, Ann Nightingale) to take a closer look. Ann’s investigation of this boisterous juvenile has revealed that it appears to be constantly begging a pair of Bald Eagles, and it has been observed eating fish near them. The fish-eating behaviour and the well-documented case of a pair of Bald Eagles raising a Red-tailed Hawk in North Saanich have certainly made these interactions captivating.  

Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagle (Photo: Ann Nightingale)

Chester the Red Squirrel is still very much at home at the Pedder Bay station! (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

Rocky Point:

At Rocky Point this week, 183 birds were banded and 69 recaptures processed. Some interesting captures were two Warbling Vireos, two Red-shafted Flickers (first of the season for RP), a Red-breasted Sapsucker and a Townsend’s Warbler (first year female). Also banded this week were three Black-headed Grosbeak, a Brown-headed Cowbird and a Red-winged Blackbird.

Townsend's Warbler (Photo: Max Hellicar)

Townsend's Warbler (Photo: Max Hellicar)

Top five species banded at RP this past week were White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis), American Goldfinch, Wilson's Warbler, Willow Flycatcher and Western Flycatcher. 

Aside from some great passerine banding, one of the advantages of having a bird observatory on the rugged west coast is being able to see many species of shorebirds and seabirds from the station. Species observed this week include Virginia Rail, Semipalmated Plover, Wilson’s Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Black Oystercatcher, Parasitic Jaeger, Marbled Murrelet, Common Loon, Pelagic Cormorant and Double-crested Cormorant. In the Laridae family, notable species observed were Heermann’s Gull and Short-billed Gull. 

A new addition to the station at RP is a prototype release box designed by our innovative team. After birds are banded and all required measurements are taken, they will be placed in the release box. The box is intended to give the birds a safe space to gather themselves before making their way back into the wild. It is much like the system we currently use for releasing Northern Saw-whet Owls. Stay tuned for an update on the final product. 

As always, we want to thank all volunteers and donors for supporting Rocky Point Bird Observatory. Thanks to everyone for bringing your skills and energy to ensure the stations continue to run smoothly. We hope you continue to enjoy coming out to volunteer or visit the banding stations - the best is yet to come! 

View of Race Rocks from Rocky Point (Photo: Max Hellicar)

Blue-eyed Darner showing interest in a net (Photo: Max Hellicar)

Week 3: Did Someone Preheat the Oven?

Week three of migration monitoring has come to a close. It proved to be a fairly typical early August week of banding - showing slower migration and a growing discrepancy in totals between the two stations. Not to fear - large migration nights will pick up soon, and we will be treated to early flight calls when we arrive each morning! Par for the course, RP station surpassed Pedder Bay in season totals and daily banding numbers. This doesn't present a reason for alarm, as PB generally sees a steep incline when the sparrows and kinglets arrive in large numbers.

AHY Ovenbird - more on this below (Sonja Futehally)

Pedder Bay

The season average for week three at Pedder Bay is 157, and this week showed consistency in trends with a total of 156 new birds banded! A total of 41 individuals were recaptured, with several birds returning from last year. These repeat visitors are always a cause for excitement, as they offer much insight into the survivorship and migration patterns of their species. This week saw the return of a White-crowned Sparrow who was banded as an AHY last year, which determines it to be in at least its third year! Good luck, and we hope to see them again next year! 

A HY Male Common Yellowthroat with the
promise of a black mask
(Mara Hanneson)

There were many interesting net runs at the station this week, including the delivery of two Hairy Woodpeckers into net 15! Species in the family Picidae are very intriguing to banders (and everyone, surely!), as their interesting molt strategies give us the opportunity to micro-age with more certainty. These individuals were caught in the same net, and were determined to be a HY and a 3Y. Take a look at the photos below, and let us know if you have any questions about these birds the next time your are at the station!

3Y Hairy Woodpecker - aged by the molt sequence of
three primary covert generations!
 (Sonja Futehally)

A closer look for the molt fanatics amongst us
(Sonja Futehally)

Top 10 for week 3 at Pedder Bay 

An understated morning at Pedder Bay
(Mara Hanneson)

Ripe Himalayan blackberries
(Mara Hanneson)

An excellent example of molt in a White-crowned Sparrow - can you spot the feathers growing? 
(Max Hellicar)

Rocky Point

For the second year in a row, Rocky Point station has far surpassed the season average for week 3. This week 327 individuals were banded, for a total of 1008 new birds this year! The historical average has seen 625 birds at this point of the season. The most captured bird this week was American Goldfinch, with a total of 78 individuals, and a high count of 29 in one day!

Several interesting species were banded this week, including two Northern Rough-winged Swallows and a first of the year Cooper's Hawk. The hawk was in juvenile plumage, and has since been sighted hunting around the meadows. Following a morning of passerine banding, this bird made quite a stir. Can you guess how long his wing measured?

HY Cooper's Hawk - with a wing of 228 mm
(Max Hellicar)

An unexpected visitor delighted all present on Saturday morning... an Ovenbird! This skulky forest breeding bird went undetected until it was discovered early that morning in net 1. Although Ovenbirds breed in the far NE of British Columbia, they do not pass through this area of the province on their Winter migration. With this in mind, it is surprising to discover that this was not the first of its species we have banded (first in 2018). 

A dapper Male Wilson's Warbler was celebrated at Rocky Point
(Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Top 10 for week 3 at Rocky Point

Max and Andrew carefully examining the wing of a Willow Flycatcher
(Adam Ross)

There are so many dedicated volunteers and contributors that make this work possible, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you. This season we introduced a new system to train keen volunteers into the role of extractor. It has been wonderful to see experienced volunteers passing on their years of knowledge to the newer folks, and to watch everyone build confidence (trainees and trainers alike). 

We are also very grateful for the countless visitors who make it to our Pedder Bay station. We have had the pleasure of hosting over 120 of you this year! It's a privilege to do this work, and it is a joy to share this with all of you. If you haven't made it out yet, or are interested in the many other programs we offer, please visit our Events Calendar. See you soon, and happy birding!

The wildlife at both stations ensures there
is never a dull moment
(Mara Hanneson)

Josh helping to collect and catalogue tick data
(Rebecca Reader-Lee)

One of the many benefits of rising early (Mara Hanneson)

 New bands as of 10 Aug 2025

Species	Rocky Point Week 3	RP Season total	Pedder Bay Week 3	PB Season total
Anna's Hummingbird	0	1	0	13
Rufous Hummingbird	6	32	6	28
Belted Kingfisher	0	0	0	1
Cooper's Hawk	1	1	0	0
Red-breasted Sapsucker	0	1	0	2
Downy Woodpecker	1	1	0	1
Hairy Woodpecker	0	1	0	2
Pileated Woodpecker	0	0	0	2
Northern Flicker	0	0	0	1
Olive-sided Flycatcher	0	6	1	1
Western Wood-pewee	0	1	0	0
Willow Flycatcher	13	23	2	7
Hammond's Flycatcher	0	1	0	0
Western Flycatcher	16	79	3	16
Warbling Vireo	2	3	2	5
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	0	16	9	18
Violet-green Swallow	1	3	0	1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	2	5	0	0
Barn Swallow	0	1	0	5
Bushtit	4	17	0	21
Red-breasted Nuthatch	0	1	0	0
Brown Creeper	3	12	1	3
Northern House Wren	3	12	3	13
Pacific Wren	5	7	0	0
Bewick's Wren	7	26	3	21
Swainson's Thrush	7	38	10	50
American Robin	0	10	1	9
Cedar Waxwing	1	14	0	3
House Finch	1	4	0	2
Purple Finch	9	30	5	34
American Goldfinch	73	143	0	16
Chipping Sparrow	3	10	1	8
Oregon Junco	1	1	5	7
White-crowned Sparrow	43	172	30	64
Song Sparrow	5	46	6	28
Spotted Towhee	7	29	9	42
Red-winged Blackbird	3	6	0	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	3	6	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	0	0
Orange-crowned Warbler	7	25	1	4
MacGillivray's Warbler	8	38	7	21
Common Yellowthroat	10	17	8	9
Yellow Warbler	10	60	1	3
Wilson's Warbler	25	107	5	30
Western Tanager	2	3	2	11
Black-headed Grosbeak	3	5	1	3
Totals	327	1008	156	506

Week 2: Honk if you love birds!

27 July - 03 August 2025

It was a good second week, with lots of exciting birds despite the seemingly unrelenting west winds. The birds are beginning to migrate, so we have been seeing some new species around!

Pedder Bay had a slower week with 145 new birds and 37 recaptures, and we were lucky to get a good variety of species including some unusual ones! Highlights include two Pileated Woodpeckers, a Belted Kingfisher, five Barn Swallows and a Canada Goose. This is only the second time RPBO has banded a goose, with the first being a Cackling Goose at Rocky Point in 2023!

Jannaca banding the Canada Goose

Mara and Mark banding one of the Pileated Woodpeckers

Hatch year Barn Swallow

After second year male Western Tanager

Rocky Point was fairly busy for this time of year even with quite a few net closures due to wind, with 364 new birds and 93 recaptures. Highlights were FOUR!!! Olive-sided Flycatchers, a Western Wood-pewee, two Violet-green Swallows and two Northern Rough-winged Swallows! We also had a Hammond’s Flycatcher, hopefully the first of many we’ll catch in the coming weeks as they head south to their wintering grounds.

Olive-sided Flycatcher (Max Hellicar)

Hammond's Flycatcher

After hatch year male Red-breasted Nuthatch

Some particularly interesting birds recaptured this week include a Spotted Towhee and Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow banded in 2020, and a Chestnut-backed Chickadee banded as a hatch year in 2019. It’s always a pleasure to see birds returning years later, and they can give us important insight into survivorship, longevity, and site loyalty of songbirds!

Chestnut-backed Chickadee originally banded in 2019

There have been plenty of slugs to keep us company as well!

Slimy visitor - a Pacific Banana Slug

Another Pacific Banana Slug exploring the ropes

We’d like to thank the many amazing and talented volunteers that keep us running smoothly, as well as the lovely visitors who have come to see our operations at Pedder Bay! For more information on our other projects and how to visit us in person, check out our main website at rpbo.org!

Mara banding in front of some visitors!