Week 10: A Flurry of Firsts

Our tenth week of banding started off on a high note with three new species banded. Both Pedder Bay and Rocky Point both caught their first White-throated sparrow of the season on September 24^th. These are low volume, late fall migrants at Rocky Point. Since the 24^th both stations have caught one more White-throated Sparrow with several others being observed around each station. 

White-throated Sparrow by Serena Johnston 

On the 24^th Rocky Point also banded the first Swamp Sparrow of the season along with a Dusky Flycatcher! Dusky Flycatchers occur in central and eastern British Columbia and are rare visitors on Vancouver Island. This is the sixth Dusky Flycatcher banded at Rocky Point, the last one being banded in 2009.

Dusky Flycatcher by Rick Hardy

More and more of the fall migrants are flooding in with a few standout species at each station. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are becoming a dominant presence at both sites. In the past week there have been 89 banded at Rocky Point, previously 66, and 77 banded at Pedder Bay, previously 34. Hermit Thrush

An adult male Purple Finch, banded at Pedder Bay by Rick Hardy

almost doubled the number banded at both sites as well. Pedder Bay has continued to see a huge influx of Purple Finch with 29 banded bringing the total to a whopping 95, primarily young birds. Other standouts include 28 Pacific Wren banded at Rocky Point and large numbers of Spotted Towhees that dominate the nets at both sites.

Raptor numbers continued to be high from the 22^nd through the 24^th, particularly at Rocky Point. In the late morning kettles of over 500 Turkey Vultures have been seen kettling in the skies over the Rocky Point banding station.  Turkey Vultures were also observed moving through Pedder Bay, but in lower numbers. September 24^th was a great day for raptors at Rocky Point, along with 500+ Turkey Vultures, 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 10 Cooper’s Hawks, 11 Red-tailed Hawks and a rare treat, a Swainson’s Hawk, were seen in the kettles! The Swainson’s Hawk, usually found in the interior of B.C. and Alberta, was seen again the next day by Nancy Raginski. Pedder Bay was not to be outdone this week however. Ann Nightingale was lucky to spy a Northern Goshawk overhead on the 24^th.

On the 22^nd a single Northern Saw-whet Owl was discovered roosting in the shrubs along the path. These small owls, while seemingly numerous during banding operations at night are rarely seen during the day and was a great surprise for the team at Rocky Point.

In the past week we hosted our first two education programs at Pedder Bay, a group of grade 5 girls from SMUS on the 21^st and a group of seniors on the 27^th. Both were a great success and everyone seemed to enjoy their day at the banding station. We will have several more education programs over the next few weeks and hope that all goes well!

The 'first of the year' Swamp Sparrow by Rick Hardy 

Rocky Point lost banding hours one 3 days this week from the 27^th to 29^th due to military activity. This means nets were closed at 8 am. During the first day of closures the crew at Rocky Point still banded 34 new birds, but numbers were down the next day with only 12 banded.

Owls continue to trickle in slow and steady. While there have not yet been any nights with high numbers, a few owls have been caught most nights with good weather. Each site more than doubled the number of owls banded this week. Rocky Point now has a total of 25 Northern Saw-whet Owls and Pedder Bay has a total of 18.

Other notable observations from the week include:

- A Cassin’s Auklet observed at Rocky Point on September 26th

-  Two Western Meadowlarks were observed on the September 24^th

- Another Horned Lark was observed at Rocky Point in September 24^th

- A total of 114 Cackling Geese were observed flying overhead at Pedder Bay on September 27^th

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Species	Rocky Week 10 Totals	Rocky Season Totals	Pedder Week 10 Totals	Pedder Season Totals
Northern Harrier	0	1	0	0
Barred Owl	0	2	0	1
Anna's Hummingbird	0	0	2	14
Rufous Hummingbird	0	14	0	21
Red-breasted Sapsucker	0	0	1	4
Hairy Woodpecker	0	3	0	2
Downy Wodpecker	0	3	0	4
Northern Flicker	1	2	2	5
Olive-sided Flycatcher	0	2	0	0
"Traill's" Flycatcher	0	1	0	0
Willow Flycatcher	0	65	0	48
Dusky Flycatcher	1	1	0	0
Hammond's Flycatcher	3	16	1	12
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	6	290	4	114
Cassin's Vireo	0	1	0	3
Hutton's Vireo	1	3	0	2
Warbling Vireo	0	15	0	11
Steller's Jay	0	1	0	0
Barn Swallow	0	0	0	1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	6	39	1	20
Bushtit	0	3	3	30
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1	5	0	3
Brown Creeper	0	24	0	10
Bewick's Wren	0	24	0	35
House Wren	0	17	0	20
Pacific Wren	28	105	13	23
Marsh Wren	1	2	0	0
Golden-crowned Kinglet	13	44	10	64
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	89	155	77	111
Swainson's Thrush	7	69	4	85
Hermit Thrush	24	53	29	75
American Robin	0	18	1	33
Cedar Waxwing	0	4	0	4
Orange-crowned Warbler	16	119	2	134
Yellow Warbler	4	75	0	65
Chestnut-sided Warbler	0	1	0	0
"Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler	2	6	3	19
"Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler	11	13	1	3
"Unknown/hybrid" Yellow-r. Warbler	0	0	1	2
Black-throated Gray Warbler	0	3	0	5
Townsend's Warbler	0	3	0	2
Northern Waterthrush	0	0	0	1
MacGillivray's Warbler	0	31	0	28
Common Yellowthroat	3	48	2	47
Wilson's Warbler	1	162	0	153
Western Tanager	0	1	0	20
Black-headed Grosbeak	0	4	0	10
Spotted Towhee	47	117	21	122
Chipping Sparrow	0	21	0	15
Savannah Sparrow	3	49	1	11
Fox Sparrow	19	95	23	111
Song Sparrow	12	54	20	70
Lincoln's Sparrow	6	76	9	131
Swamp Sparrow	1	1	0	0
White-throated Sparrow	3	3	3	3
White-crowned Sparrow	6	116	9	297
Golden-crowned Sparrow	9	63	11	100
Oregon Junco	12	27	40	121
Red-winged Backbird	0	1	0	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	0		0	2
Purple Finch	1	52	29	95
House Finch	0		0	12
Pine Siskin	0	11	0	10
American Goldfinch	0	20	0	7
TOTALS	337	2154	323	2350

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Species	Rocky Week 10 Owl Totals	Rocky Season Owl Totals	Pedder Week 10 Owl Totals	Pedder Season Owl Totals
Barred Owl	0	1	0	0
Northern Saw-whet Owl	14	25	10	18
TOTALS	14	26	10	18

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Rocky Point	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	Total
Banded	56	61	96	46	32	34	12	337
Species Banded	15	14	23	12	12	10	8	27
Recap	6	7	12	14	5	2	2	48
Species Recap	4	7	7	8	3	2	2	6
Pedder Bay	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	Total
Banded	52	41	66	39	28	66	31	323
Species Banded	12	10	15	11	12	19	15	28
Recap	8	13	13	15	13	13	10	85
Species Recap	5	7	7	10	7	10	8	17