Week 8: Familiar Faces

    As we enter the peak of fall migration some long-awaited migrant and winter species have begun to arrive in large numbers, both in our nets and around the stations...

    It is officially Sparrow September! This week we welcomed back a wave of Oregon Juncos, Fox Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Gambel's White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Savannah Sparrows.

Fox Sparrow (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Golden-crowned Sparrow (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Female Oregon Junco (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

White-throated Sparrow (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

    Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hammond's Flycatchers, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Pacific Wrens also made a strong appearance, bringing some small-bird representation to our nets.

Myrtle x Audubon's (intergrade) Yellow-rumped Warbler (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Male Golden-crowned Kinglet (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

    Some other fun species arriving include Hermit Thrushes, Steller's Jays, and Varied Thrushes! Thus far the Steller's Jays and Varied Thrushes haven't been caught in large numbers, but we were happy to catch 4 STJA and 1 VATH this week.

Varied Thrush (Alessandra Kite)

    We were also lucky enough to catch another Northern Pygmy-Owl at Rocky, making this the first year since 2018 (2 banded at Pedder) where multiple have been banded in a season.

Northern Pygmy-Owl (Gaelin Armstrong)

    Another familiar face this week was Wilson's Warbler #2950-06806, the 6+ year old female (banded as an AHY in 2021) that was mentioned in the blog for week 2. She has almost fully completed her prebasic molt for the fall, and is now looking much more put-together than she did in August!

Wilson's Warbler #2950-06806 in her beautiful basic plumage (Rebecca Reader-Lee) 

A better look at her magnificent black cap (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

    In terms of observations we've been treated to some amazing raptor movement in the skies with large groups of hawks (including multiple Broad-winged Hawks), falcons and vultures. On the ocean both seabirds and marine mammals have been quite prevalent, with Humpback Whales, Orcas, thousands of birds (mainly gulls, alcids, loons and cormorants) taking advantage of the Pacific herring bait balls forming in the straight. We've also had a number of reptile and amphibian visitors, including Northwestern and Western Terrestrial Garter Snakes, Red-legged Frogs, and Pacific Chorus Frogs.

Kiah Jasper scoping a raptor "kettle" (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

A young Northwestern Garter Snake (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Gary the Gutter Frog, a notably loud Pacific Chorus Frog that has taken up residence in the apparently quite resonant gutter and drainpipe of our Rocky Point banding shelter (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

    Thanks as always for your interest and support for our Fall Migration Monitoring Project! For more information on the organization, how to get involved, and other RPBO projects (including our Northern Saw-Whet Owl banding which is beginning the first night of the season as I type this!), please visit our website.

Week 7 - Should I stay or should I go

Many of the birds observed at the banding stations this week are familiar to us - Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow, Western and Willow Flycatchers, Swainson’s Thrush, Wilson’s and Orange-crowned Warblers. And most of them have built up significant fat reserves, suggesting they will be migrating very soon. But this first week of September has also brought us species that we anxiously await; Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow, Golden Crowned-sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Steller’s Jay have been added to our list of species banded. 

Steller's Jay (Photo: Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Their arrival signals that fall migration is gaining momentum and birds will be moving through (or above!) the area in high numbers on some nights. While most birds will continue further south to their respective overwintering sites, those that do stop here, whether briefly or for the winter, are warmly welcomed.

Pedder Bay

Our most banded species at Pedder Bay this week were Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow (36), Swainson’s Thrush (35) Lincoln’s Sparrow (28), Spotted Towhee (16) and Purple Finch (15). 

Gambel's White-crowned Sparrows have also been banded this week (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

A Clay-colored Sparrow was banded on September 1^st. It’s subtle plumage appears well suited for camouflage in the dry grasses of the Great Plains where it is numerous. The individual was caught in net #12, adjacent to the Pedder Bay estuary. 

Clay-colored Sparrow (Photo: Rebecca Reader-Lee)

A Townsend’s Warbler (HY) was also banded at Pedder Bay this week. 

Townsend's Warbler (Photo: Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Rocky Point

At Rocky Point we continue to band high numbers of Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow (44), Orange-crowned Warbler (30), Swainson’s Thrush (26) and Westen Flycatcher (25). We saw a significant increase in Northern Yellow Warbler (74), Lincoln’s Sparrow (46) and Savannah Sparrow (29) in the nets, and on our daily observations.

Our banding highlight for the week was our first Steller’s Jay of the season. They appear to have returned in high numbers with over 40 individuals recorded on a single day. Also banded this week was a Red Winged Blackbird (HY-M) and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. 

Notable observations at the station were Wilson’s Snipe, Pomarine Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger, Sabine’s Gull, Red-necked Phalarope, Northern Waterthrush and Gadwall. Over 300 Band-tailed pigeons were counted on September 6^th, and hundreds of Vaux’s Swifts have been observed migrating over both stations this week.

We expect both birds observed and banded to continue to increase this month at our migration monitoring stations. Thanks to all the volunteers for their efforts contributing to daily observations, census and banding operations at Rocky Point Bird Observatory, we couldn’t do it without you! Scroll down to see more photos from the stations...

Band-tailed Pigeon (Photo: Kiah Jasper)

California Quail (Photo: Kiah Jasper)

Vaux's Swift (Photo: Kiah Jasper)

AHY-M Northern Yellow Warbler (Photo: Rebecca Reader-Lee)

A significant fault bar on a HY Northern Yellow Warbler's tail (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

Week 6: Eyes on The Horizon

Week 6 of Rocky Point Bird Observatory's Migration Monitoring Program has come to an end and we are back with another blog post. We faced some challenges this week with several staff members falling ill, but with the help of our healthy crew and many dedicated volunteers we pushed through to have a productive week of songbird banding. 

Our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season at Rocky Point! (Gaelin Armstrong)

While the last 7 days did not bring many unusual catches there are plenty of things to catch up on. 276 birds were caught at Rocky Point and 150 at Pedder Bay, a similar pace to Week 5, which brings us to a total of 1501 birds banded at Rocky and 862 at Pedder! Lincoln's Sparrow and Fox Sparrow both continued to grow in numbers at both sites providing a nice change of pace and hinting at exciting things to come as migration unfolds. Week 6 also saw the first Black-throated Grey Warbler captured at Pedder Bay and the first Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Rocky Point for the 2026 season!

A newly arrived Fox Sparrow banded at Pedder Bay (Jannaca Chick)

Notable observations from the stations included Caspian Tern and our first Horned Lark of the year at Rocky Point on August 24th. Staff and volunteers are still enjoying sporadic sightings of both Wolves and Elk at Rocky with the occasional Orca as well. Columbian Black-tailed Deer are being seen at both sites with several fawns frequenting the area right behind the banding station at Pedder!

The first and only Black-throated Grey Warbler banded at Pedder Bay so far this year (Jannaca Chick)

Staff and volunteers alike eagerly await whatever migration has in store for us in the back-half of the fall and are looking forward to what is often our “busy season” here in the coming weeks. Our up-to-date banding totals can be found in the table below and for more information and highlights check out our socials @rockypointbird. We'll be back next week with another update!

A Whale of a Week

A Bigg’s killer whale or transient killer whale swimming through the channel to Bentinck Island (Heather Tocher)

Week 5 (August 17 – 23) at Rocky Point Bird Observatory is coming to an end, and it was certainly a memorable one! Banding has been steady but we are awaiting busier days soon. The wildlife sightings extended well beyond the birds this week, with wolves seen on the shoreline at Rocky Point and a Biggs orca spotted swimming through the strait, subsequently covering its dorsal fin with kelp and hunting in the shallows!

Sunrises at Rocky Point never disappoint (Gaelin Armstrong)

Rocky Point Station

Rocky Point recorded 235 new birds and 64 recaptures this week. The most banded birds at the station were Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrows with 44 individuals, followed by Western Flycatchers with 29, Willow Flycatchers with 24, Wilson's Warblers with 24, and Bushtits with 12 banded. For recapture highlights, a Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow banded on August 3, 2023 as a hatch-year bird was recaptured this week, showing strong site fidelity.

After-hatch year previously banded August 3, 2023, (Gaelin Armstrong)

Observational highlights at Rocky Point included a Crossbill explosion that continues, with most days having detections of upwards of 250 individuals. Large numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches are heard all day long, while Least Sandpipers and Western Sandpipers have been seen foraging in the bay during low tide. A Parasitic Jaeger was seen during sea watch. Good numbers of California Gulls were detected, with over 2,000 being seen on most days. A Lewis's Woodpecker was a rare highlight, observed on a snag near the front pond. A Baird's Sandpiper was observed making an uncommon stopover during its migration from its Arctic breeding grounds on its way south. Good numbers of Band-tailed Pigeons are starting to be seen, with large flocks flying overhead. Relatively low numbers of alcids and cormorants were noted, aside from the odd raft of Common Murres.

Hatch year Male Western Tanager (Note the vibrant yellow and white wing bars) (Gaelin Armstrong)

Pedder Bay Station

Pedder Bay recorded 132 new birds banded and 39 birds recaptured this week. The top species caught in the nets were Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrows with 30 individuals, Purple Finches with 23, Common Yellowthroats with 8, Red-breasted Nuthatches with 7, and Willow Flycatchers with 7. For recapture highlights, a Swainson's Thrush was recaptured this week, previously banded as a hatch-year bird on July 22, 2023.

It never gets old to see Red-breasted Nuthatches up close! (Gaelin Armstrong)

The Pedder Bay station was closed for two days on August 22, 23, and 24 due to an influx of Purple Finches as a measure to ensure the safety of these priority birds.

Observational highlights at Pedder Bay included Semipalmated Plovers, Greater Yellowlegs, and Lesser Yellowlegs flyovers. A Common Nighthawk was heard making its call high up, foraging for bugs in the pre-dawn light. Least Sandpipers and Western Sandpipers were observed foraging in the bay at low tide.

Female type Red Crossbill (Heather Tocher)

Week 4: Rocky Terns 300

With the fourth week of our fall migration monitoring behind us, a third of our season is now completed. Before we delve into the details of the past week, I’d like to thank all the volunteers, both new and experienced, for sharing your time, energy and skills with the Rocky Point Bird Observatory’s banding stations. While some might say that our banding operations are relatively “slow” at this time of year - also known as the August doldrums – we have had plenty of banding highlights and nature observations around the stations to keep us enthralled. 

Pedder Bay

At Pedder Bay this week we banded 108 birds of 25 species. The top 5 banded birds were Western Flycatcher, Purple Finch, Swainson’s Thrush, Willow Flycatcher, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. One of the banding highlights was a family of Spotted Towhee that trickled in one net round after another from net #14 one day. In most years Red-breasted Nuthatches are rarely captured in our nets, but this year their high numbers around both stations has changed that, and it’s been a pleasure to see them up close. We also banded our first Lincoln’s Sparrow and Pacific Wren this week, both of which we expect in high numbers as fall approaches. 

Western Flycatcher (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

Willow Flycatcher (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

HY male Red-breasted Nuthatch (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

The estuary has provided us with nice sightings of shorebirds, including Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs. On August 13^th a Wood Duck was seen in the estuary. Osprey and Steller’s Jay have been spotted from the station a few times this week as well. 

Western Sandpiper showing off it's webbed toes at Pedder Bay (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

Least Sandpipers at Pedder Bay (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

Rocky Point

Rocky Point banded 280 birds of 30 species this week and we have now surpassed 1000 birds banded at the station in 2026. Despite a few slow days, banding has been fairly busy with most days seeing over 40 birds banded. The 5 most banded species this week were White-crowned Sparrow, Western Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Wilson’s Warbler and Red-breasted Nuthatch. The most surprising bird was a hatch year female American Redstart banded on August 15th. Though American Redstarts are seen regularly on the mainland and migrate south primarily from Alberta, we do see the occasional American Redstart in the greater Victoria area, and this is a typical migration period for them. 

American Redstart (Photo: Carter Strope)

American Redstart rectrices (Photo: Carter Strope)

Observations at Rocky Point were quite distinguished this past week. The jewel in the crown was an Elegant Tern, which was seen on August 15^th by one of our very skilled volunteers, Kiah Jasper. There have been multiple reports of Elegant Terns seen on the west coast of Vancouver Island this past week. Interestingly, this plunge-diving, Near Threatened species has only five known breeding colonies, the largest one being on Isla Rasa, Mexico. Significantly for Rocky Point bird Observatory, the Elegant Tern is the 300^th species recorded by the banding station. Evidently, there have been some excellent birders at the station over the years that have documented a remarkable 300 species. 

Other notable observations include Caspian Tern, Semipalmated Plover, Solitary Sandpiper, Long-eared Owl. Often over a hundred Red Crossbills have been near the station, brazenly going about their business very close to our mist nets.

When we’re not banding birds or counting them, we continue to investigate how they use the diverse habitats around us, ponder about their mysterious lives, and find that there is much to be learned about them. Whether you choose to walk to the front “pond” at Rocky Point and hope to see a Sora or Virgina Rail, or walk up the hill at Pedder Bay in search of raptors, we hope you can make it out to volunteer and enjoy some birding during the day. 

Scroll down for a few more photos and to see our banding totals. 

Greater Yellowlegs at Rocky Point (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

An Osprey flying over the station at Rocky Point (Photo: Sonja Futehally)

                                                                       Banding totals:

Week 3: Or should I say Weak Tree?

As we await the arrival of migrating birds, the number of birds in our nets may be low but that doesn’t mean we’re not staying busy!

Having our stations amongst some gorgeous mature trees comes with the inevitability of them falling from time to time, and our Rocky Point team arrived to find our usual access route blocked by a fallen tree one morning. Luckily we were able to continue operations, and even opened nets on time despite the detour!

A large fallen tree blocks the entrance road at Rocky Point (Ann Nightingale)

Swainson’s Thrushes have begun to increase in numbers at both sites as they disperse from their breeding territories, serenading us with lovely “peep”, “whit”, “bink” and “peeer” calls every morning. Large, boisterous flocks of Red Crossbills have also been visiting us daily, at times making it difficult to hear anything other than the sound of them calling and singing as they feed nearby! These fascinating birds use their highly specialized crossed bills to feed on conifers, lifting the scales and prying the seeds out of cones.

A Red Crossbill dislodges a seed from a Douglas-Fir cone at Rocky Point (Cathy Reader)

It has also been a great season so far for Red-breasted Nuthatches, with high numbers being detected at both stations daily. Despite them spending most of their time feeding above the height of our nets, we’ve even banded a few which is always a nice surprise!

Hatch-year male Red-breasted Nuthatch at Rocky Point (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

In other news this week, we are very thankful to our wonderful assistant bander Adam Ross for his efforts this season. He will be doing some travelling before returning to school in September for his Grade 12 year, but we look forward to seeing him back on weekends as a volunteer!

Adam Ross holds a young Red-breasted Sapsucker that he banded at Pedder Bay (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

We are also very excited to welcome back last year’s assistant bander Gaelin Armstrong, this time as a bander! He is returning to RPBO after spending the summer banding breeding birds in Alberta, and will be working with us for the remainder of the season.

A special thank-you to the volunteers, members and donors for your help and dedication so far this year! We would not be able to run this program without your support. Further information and updates about our organization, projects, upcoming events and how you can get involved can be found on our website, as well as Facebook and Instagram!

16-year-old volunteer Anna Wautier helps "shuttle" some birds to the Pedder Bay station (Robyn Byrne)

Rocky Point Banded Birds

Pedder Bay Banded Birds