Week 5: Murmurings of Fall

With the continued shut-down at Rocky Point for military operations we missed the first two days of the week but Saturday (Aug. 20) morning we were back out for our usual full morning sessions. In the meantime Pedder continued to be fairly slow so we didn’t feel like we were losing too much by our absence. Our first day back in at Rocky turned out to be a busy one with 44 birds banded the highest we have had in weeks. Willow Flycatcher lead the charge that day with 8 banded as they seem to have taken over from the previously ubiquitous Pacific-slope Flycatchers.

After a very windy day Sunday (we had only 1/3 of our normal net hours at Pedder!) with few birds, things picked up for the latter half of the week as both stations had catches in the 30’s rather than the 20’s that had dominated the past few weeks.

Lincoln's Sparrow by Liam Singh

In addition to the number seemingly building we are also noticing a shift in species composition as we progress into fall with both stations seeing a slight decrease in Wilson’s Warblers and the berry-eating species such as Cedar Waxwing, Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak are down as well. In their place, Orange-crowned (a season high 7 banded at Pedder Aug. 22) and Yellow Warblers as well as Lincoln’s Sparrow (15 recorded at Pedder on the 24^th) are moving in with Savannah Sparrows also increasing out at Rocky Point where there is more suitable habitat.

Northern Waterthrush by Liam Singh

An ever-so-slight increase in Raptor and Turkey Vulture numbers is right on cue as their numbers should start building this coming week. Rocky’s first American Kestrel was spotted on the 22^nd and Pedder had two Cooper’s Hawks on the 20^th.

Among the birds in our nets this week were a few goodies including Rocky’s first two Hammond’s Flycatchers of the season and SECOND Olive-sided Flycatcher (we thought we were lucky to catch the first, 2 in a season is unprecedented!). Pedder was not to be outdone though as it captured the Bird of the Week honours with a Northern Waterthrush banded on the 20^th. This species is near annual it seems but is always a treat to catch and is more frequent out at Rocky.

Owls were on the menu this week, in particular at Pedder where we heard Great Horneds most mornings and one was seen on census two different days. A Barred Owl was also found on census on the 21^st and our two volunteers who were visiting from Whistler for a 5 day stint were thrilled to get great looks at both species.

Barred Owl by Beth Christopher

A few more notable sightings from the past week include:

-Pedder showing some of its shorebird potential this week with both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs recorded as well as small groups of Least Sandpiper on the 23^rd and 24^th.

-The second Sora of the season was heard at Rocky on the 20^th.

-A Ring-necked Pheasant was spotted at Rocky on the 24^th, presumably part of the feral population in the Metchosin/Saanich area.

-The 24^th also saw our first movement of Vaux’s Swift as Pedder had 6 and Rock y 9.

On the non-bird-related side of things we had a real-deal fire “drill” at Rocky on the 24^th as we heard over the radio that all personnel were to evacuate due to a fire on the property. Not seeing any smoke we figured we had time to hastily closed up nets (tossing 4 birds that were caught) and grabbed our gear before being told, just as we were arriving at our vehicles, that the fire was contained and we could go back to our business.

Never a dull moment at RPBO!

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Rocky Point	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	Total
Banded	0	0	44	18	22	32	32	148
Species Banded	0	0	15	11	13	16	15	32
Recap	0	0	9	2	7	8	6	32
Species Recap	0	0	6	2	5	8	5	15

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Pedder Bay	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	Total
Banded	18	24	21	4	37	28	32	165
Species Banded	10	8	11	3	15	13	14	26
Recap	7	3	6	3	5	4	6	32
Species Recap	7	2	5	2	5	4	5	14

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