Orcas and Wolves and Pygmy Owls oh my!

Northern Pygmy-owl - Ann Scarfe

For the past few weeks everyone has been talking about these August doldrums, so you are probably wondering if those have finally come to an end? Well the answer is kind of. Both stations did see some very busy days, but those were punctuated by more classically August days. Part of these lower numbers were due to yet more shortened days at Rocky Point due to DND operations. Busy mornings on several days really give the sense that peak migrations is just around the corner! This week did not produce many new species for the year but the lone new bird was pretty incredible, a Northern Pygmy-Owl turned up in the nets at Pedder bay this Sunday!! 

Northern Pygmy-Owls are the smallest owl found in Canada, and though not uncommon are not regularly seen due to their small size and secretive behaviour. Unlike most other owl species which hunt at night, Pygmys are active during daylight hours, and are known to be voracious predators, capable of killing prey much larger then themselves, sometimes species up to 5 times their size, such as flickers and quail!!! Pygmy-Owls are most easily detected by their call, which is a slow and repetitive series of toots, and will often respond to people mimicking these calls.

Orcas near Rocky Point

Not to be completely outdone, Rocky Point was blessed with some incredible non-bird species over the week! A pod of Orcas came right into the channel multiple times during the week looking for seal snacks  and a wolf was also seen on the beaches in front of the banding station!!!

HY male Common Yellowthroat

Rocky Point started out the week with one of one the busier days of the year, catching 41 new birds and only 1 recapture, suggesting that the birds are really starting to move! Over all Rocky Point banded 231 birds, which was almost and increase of a hundred birds from last week's 158. This number would have likely been higher if it was not for partial closures on Tuesday and on Thursday which produced 32 and 13 new birds respectively. Much of Rocky’s increase in productivity was due to the 52 Pacific-slope Flycatchers which found their way into the nets!

Yellow Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler, 19, and Yellow Warblers, 18, also had a strong week. Other highlights at our Rocky Point station were 6 beautiful warblers: four Black-throated Grey Warblers and two Townsend’s Warblers. Another sign that migration is picking up is an increase in raptor activity over Rocky Point with good numbers of Turkey Vultures, Sharp-shinned Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks passing over the station each day. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before some of the hawks start to find their way into the nets.

Young Red-tailed Hawk checking out Rocky Point

Pedder Bay also saw a good increase in birds banded, jumping from 114 last week to 213 this week! As previously mentioned the highlight was the Northern Pygmy-Owl, but it also had a nice rush of Western Tanagers, catching 7 this week, adding a splash of colour to the browns of the sparrows. Orange-crowned Warblers (19), Swainson’s Thrushes (23) and White-crowned Sparrows (46) made up the bulk of the birds banded at Pedder this week. Hopefully things continue to pick up and we get some more exciting and wonderful birds!

The Numbers:

Rocky Point	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th	31st	Total
Banded	41	28	24	35	32	58	13	231
Species Banded	15	12	13	11	14	16	8	28
Recap	1	7	3	5	4	6	1	27
Species Recap	1	5	3	4	3	4	1	9
Pedder Bay	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th	31st	Total
Banded	26	34	28	19	32	34	41	214
Species Banded	16	14	16	11	14	17	14	31
Recap	7	7	10	10	7	6	14	61
Species Recap	5	5	6	7	4	5	6	12