Week 4: Mid-August Lull

Black-throated Grey Warbler by Rob Gowan

Over the course of Week 4 we did not see a dramatic increase in bird movement or birds in the net, we had slow but steady days at both stations. Like last week, this lull in bird activity did provide an excellent opportunity for volunteers and banders alike to shake off some of the cobwebs and get back into the swing of things. With the warmer temperatures felt this week, slow days are to be expected. Birds will normally reduce their daily activity when the weather is hot in order to avoid using too much energy. Cooler temperatures and cold fronts are influential in migration, so it is not a big surprise that we didn’t see great increases in bird movement this past week.

Unfortunately, we were also unable to access our Rocky Point site during the second half of the week due to military activities. We do expect to be able to have access this week and are all looking forward to getting back out there. Based on our Pedder Bay station numbers, we don’t think bird activity was particularly busy over at Rocky, so it’s a relief we’re getting these days early in migration.

Wilson's Warbler by Sharlene James

This week, Pedder Bay we banded 166 birds of 28 species and at Rocky Point we managed 77 birds of 20 species. We continued to see high numbers of White-crowned Sparrows banded with 35 at Pedder and 12 at Rocky Point, but did notice Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Wilson’s Warbler numbers were down, with only 13 of both species banded at Pedder and 5 Pacific-slope and 9 Wilson’s banded this week at Rocky Point. Along with our regulars we were also fortunate to get some nice first of the season species this week. We were lucky to get a Marsh Wren out at Rocky Point, not surprisingly it was first caught in one of the front two nets near the marsh. At Pedder we had a couple first of the seasons as well, including a Northern Flicker and what was probably this week’s banding highlight, a Barred Owl!

Barred Owl by Liam Singh

The owl was caught on the 15th, during net opening, it seems like this bird was determined to find its way to the banding station as it was in and out of the net twice before it was finally caught a third time. While it is unusual for an owl to repeatedly hit the net (especially when there are no other birds in the net!) it was determined that this was a juvenile bird, which may provide some explanation as why it flew into the net so many times - it just doesn’t know any better yet. Over the past week or so we have seen a Barred Owl hanging around the banding station, even sitting on our net poles, so it's nice to finally get one in the net.

Out of the nets we continued to see increases in American Robins and Cedar Waxwings in the berries at Pedder, as well as small mixed flocks of warblers, flycatchers and vireos hanging around. Unfortunately they're just not hitting the nets! Shorebird numbers continue to pick up ever so slightly, but no real substantial movements yet. We’ve also had the pleasure of hearing Common Nighthawks and a Northern Pygmy Owl calling at Pedder on a couple of mornings, as well as a good look at the latter during census on the 16th. An unexpected surprise on census was a Green Heron on the 14th! Green Herons are fairly uncommon on the Island and in British Columbia as it is on the northern limit of this species’ range, making it a great bird to get in BC.

Adult Male Purple Finch by Marilyn Lambert

Despite the slow days and warm weather we managed to get some interesting birds this week, but hopefully migration picks up in and out of the nets next week.

--

Rocky Point	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	Total
Banded	25	16	18	18	0	0	0	77
Species banded	10	9	8	12	0	0	0	20
Recapped	2	1	8	3	0	0	0	14
Species recapped	2	1	6	3	0	0	0	10

--

Pedder Bay	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	Total
Banded	32	21	21	27	20	25	20	166
Species banded	12	11	11	13	13	10	12	28
Recapped	8	6	6	8	1	8	7	44
Species recapped	6	4	5	5	1	6	5	14

--